Heart of Gold
by Gabrielle607
Summary: The plan was simple for Helga: Find Smaug, kill him, and if she doesn't die trying, then hope for the best. But as always, things don't always go according to plan. With a small amount of loyalty and willing heart for the Company, she now must go with the Company to get to Smaug. On the way, hearts will be opened and secrets revealed that may just end her self-exile.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't normal for Helga to be sitting in the corner of an inn. Usually, if she was staying in one, she would just retire to her room and drop dead on the bed or just stay there, mulling over her life as the loud laughter of both drunk men and tavern wenches came out as soft sounds through the walls of her room. To be near the sources of those sounds were foreign to Helga. Up in the safety of her rooms, she just assumed that the image of the inn downstairs would be less wild than what she is seeing at the moment; the tavern wenches were, expectedly, sitting down on the men's lap. The side of their skirt having a slit on from their hip to the end, showing a generous amount of skin from their thighs and the rest of their legs. Their arms either wrapped around the neck of the men or guiding the men's hands into the forbidden places of their bodies.

The men, however, were more disgusting. They rested their heads at the collarbones of the wenches, smothering them with ale reeked lips as they rested a hand on the hips or thighs while they nursed a tankard on the other. Their loud laughter suddenly becoming deafening and Helga contemplated whether or not she should leave and give up on her friend, who was late.

And as if on cue, from the crowded area of The Prancing Pony, she saw a grey point of a hat entering a door and making its way through the crowd, not to her, but towards a more calmer part of the inn. She saw her old friend sit on one of the benches across a black-bearded man who was peacefully (as much peace that you can get) eating his meal. Helga watched them exchange a few words and suddenly, turned around and as if they were becoming aware of something. Then, as the old man nodded and stood, he looked around the inn until his eyes landed on hers, a small smile on his lips and made his way towards her.

"You're late, old man." She jested and the man just huffed in disbelief as he sat on the corner booth with her.

"You're the one to talk." He said as he took out his pipe and placed it on the tip of his mouth, looking for his pouch of Old Toby.

"I've been here for hours. Why did you call for me, Gandalf?" She asked. "You do know I do not like time to be-"

"Yes, yes, you have the impatience of an old man," He said, puffing a out a cloud of smoke. "But I think what I am about to say will be of your interest." He said, leaning on the table as he stared across her.

"Oh?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "Go on." She said.

"It is not safe to say all the details here, and it is not safe to say it through letter, so I will just tell you now that in a few month's time, a gathering will occur in The Shire in Hobbiton, to be exact." He said.

"What kind of gathering?" She asked, a bit annoyed that she went all the way from Rohan to Bree only to be told to go to another place to discuss the matter that they were supposed to discuss today.

"A gathering about a quest to reclaim a homeland." He said, and whatever spark of interest that was on Helga's eyes vanished.

"Gandalf, this is the last time I'm saying this. I don't waste my time-"

"Did I mention that to reclaim this homeland, a dragon must be slain?" Gandalf asked and Helga fell silent. _A dragon?_ Of course, Helga knew this all too well... Every dragon in existence were wiped off from the face of Middle Earth and she had been a witness to it.

All except one.

"Wait, Gandalf, are you talking about-" She was cut off when she saw Gandalf's raised brow and a smirk on his lips. For a second, a heavy weight was lifted from her heart. But as she recalled what happened that faithful day, what that _worm_ did, she felt her heart harden with a feeling that started to slip from her before Gandalf talked to her; hope. "When will this gathering happen?" She asked, determination suddenly set in her eyes.

"In three month's time, go to Hobbiton and look for Bilbo Baggins in Bag End. This mark will be on his door. I must warn you, though. Do not expect a warm welcome. The group that will be gathering for this quest is a group of dwarves. Their leader wouldn't take it well once he finds out that I invited you." He said, handing her a piece of paper which she examined. She let out a laugh, not really believing that this was happening.

"Gandalf, thank you. You have no idea what this means to me! I've heard of a dragon attack there, but I didn't expect it to be Smaug. I assumed that there were a few stray dragons that escaped after Thranduil's raid, but I didn't expect it to be Smaug! Of course! I should've thought to look in Erebor!" She said, laughing at herself and Gandalf smiled. He hadn't seen her this happy in centuries.

"Helga, remember, in three month's time, be in Hobbiton. Look for Bilbo Baggins." He reminded her again and before she could shower him with thanks once again, Gandalf was gone.

* * *

 **Hello, fellow readers and followers!**

 **1\. For those of you who favorited or followed this story, yes, I rewrote this story because I didn't feel like writing the previous one. I had no idea in what direction the story was headed to, unlike this one, the idea for Helga this time just struck me like lightning. I understand if this isn't what you like and you liked the previous version and I just hope you'd just voice out negative opinions through PM or something.**

 **2\. For those new to this story, hello and welcome! C: I hope you liked this chapter and I hope you're interested for more! :P**

 **Anyways, you know what to do! Review! ;)**

 **~Gabrielle**


	2. Chapter 2

_3 months later..._

Helga walked down the lamp lit streets of the peaceful town of Hobbiton, looking for the mark that Gandalf said. Passing by every small rounded door, she searched and searched for the mark until she passed by the hole on top of a hill, where she spotted something blue and glowing. She knocked on the round, green door and smiled at the small hobbit who opened the door for her.

However, the hobbit was frightened by her appearance, more so since her hood was on.

"Um... Ma-May I help you?" He stammered and she was about to say something when she spotted a familiar face within the room.

"Ah, Helga! You've arrived!" Gandalf said, as he stood beside the hobbit, ducking his head a little underneath the doorframe. "Bilbo, this is an old friend of mine, Helga. Helga, this is our host, Bilbo." Gandalf said, and Helga nodded towards the hobbit, who nodded back.

"Good evening." She said, smiling at the hobbit before turning to Gandalf with a serious face. "Is there food?" Was the first thing she asked, and Bilbo was stunned by her voice. For a frightening person, her voice was soft and gentle, albeit a bit low. Being an old friend of Gandalf's, he expects that she's a bit old herself, too.

"Right, follow me. Although, I must say, the others might've finished most of it. I think stew is all there's left." He said, mumbling more to himself than to Helga. She was caught by surprise when she saw the dining room, for it was filled with 13 dwarves, both old and young, and for small creatures, it rather felt crowded. When the dwarves saw the new guest standing just outside the dining hall, they immediately stood up, hands on their weapons. The head of their group, who was obviously sitting at the head of the table, had his back against the guest. He stood up and turned around, and was taken aback by the sight of a woman in this meeting.

"This is no place for a woman." He said to her, eyeing her from head to toe. For someone who wore such intimidating armor, she was quite thin.

"Not unless that woman was invited, then she has a right to be here."

"Depends on who invited her." The dwarf said and Helga just stood her ground. Gandalf just sighed and shook his head; these two bickers like children.

"I'm afraid I forgot to tell you that she was the other member I talked to you about." Gandalf said, ducking his head again to avoid hitting his forehead on the beam... again. The dwarf just glared at the old wizard.

"Apparently, you failed to mention that this member was a woman. I will not be accepting her here." The dwarf said and Helga started to panic at first, then felt anger lighting her heart up on fire. No, the Valar cannot be that cruel. To present an opportunity right in front of her only to take it back. She was about to let out a snarky remark when she bit back her tongue and shot The dwarf a glare instead, before stomping out of the house.

"Excuse me," Gandalf said, smiling at the dwarves before following Helga outside. "Helga Skyrunner, you stop at this instant!" He called after her as she started to prepare the saddle on her horse, Shadowmere.

"It's alright, Gandalf. This is what the Valar wants, is it not? To taunt me? Well, _mga puta silang lahat_! I don't need them! I'll charge to Erebor myself!" She exclaimed, pulling on the buckles too tightly that her horse reacted, standing on its two hind legs, making Helga stand back as it's hoof hit her forehead before it trotted away. "Argh! You useless ass!" She cursed at the retreating form of her horse. She grumbled and picked up her belongings while she held her slightly bleeding head, sighing in defeat.

"Helga, falling into your short temper won't do you any good at the moment. You can't simply walk into Erebor by yourself, there is no way in! You must be patient." Gandalf said.

"I **have** been patient, Gandalf. For hundreds of years, I have been very patient and it is already running thin," She looked back at the hobbit hole with sad eyes. "They do not know how much this quest means to me." She said, her shoulders sagging and Gandalf placed an arm around her shoulders.

"Let us go back inside. Dress that wound of yours. I'll convince Thorin to let you in his quest." Gandalf said as they started to walk back. Suddenly, Helga stopped before the doorway.

"Please don't tell them what I am... If you do, you knew what happened the last time someone knew who I was." She said, tears in her eyes as a fresh wound from her heart opened up again. Gandalf just nodded in understanding before they entered the house.

"Gandalf, Thorin was- oh my, what happened now?" Bilbo asked, feeling a bit faint at the sight of Helga's blood seeping through her hand.

"Bilbo, can you fetch the dwarf named Oin?" Bilbo just nodded before scurrying off to the dining room and coming back with a dwarf holding an ear trumpet.

"In what way may I be of assistance?" Oin asked, looking around and saw Helga smiling sheepishly while holding a bloody hand over her wound. "Oin, at your service." He said, bowing before going near her and taking her hand off her wound. "Well, it doesn't look too serious, but we can't be too careful. Laddie, get some hot water and a clean rag." He said to Bilbo, who just nodded and went to the kitchen. "Keep pressure on the wound. How'd this happen, lass?" He asked, and Helga pouted in annoyance.

"My horse kicked me." She grumbled and Oin's brows furrowed and looked at Gandalf.

"What did she say?" Oin asked him.

"Forgive him, my dear, but Master Oin here is a bit deaf," She told Helga who just nodded. "It was from an incident with her horse." Gandalf told Oin, a bit louder this time, and from the dining room, Helga heard a few chuckles from the dwarves, which made her mood even more sour.

"Laugh all you want. Now I really won't join your stupid quest." Helga grumbled. Then, Biblo returned with the bowl of hot water and clean rags that Oin asked for and he started to work on her wound.

"I-I also brought some bandages, just in case." Bilbo said, handing it to Oin who grumbled a thanks. Once he was done, Gandalf placed a hand on Helga's shoulder.

"Just stay here, Helga, while I talk with Thorin and his company." Gandalf said before he and Oin left her by the fireplace.

"Er-, do you need anything?" Bilbo asked her and she just smiled and shook her head, avoiding her complaining stomach. She took out the small pouch of berries and nuts she collected on the way and popped some in her mouth.

"No, thanks. You go ahead with the company. I'll be fine, here." She said and Bilbo nodded and left. As soon as he left, she stood up and looked around the living room. Although they tried to be quiet, Helga could still hear them from the other room.

"When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." She could hear Oin say from the other room. _Beast..._ It would seem that the young hobbit asked them a question because she could hear one dwarf answer.

"Oh that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age," The dwarf said and Helga felt her fists curling. _You do not know what that word even means... They know nothing of him._ "Air borne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals."

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo's muffled voice said. Helga didn't hear much of the following words said, but she knew that it soon turned into an argument between those 13 dwarves and they were silenced by Thorin. He gave a pretty impressive speech. If Helga didn't hate him at the moment, she would've started to fall for him right then and there. But no, he just had to deprive her from her sweet revenge on the witless piece of-

"But you forget, the front gate is sealed. There is no other way into that mountain." A dwarf spoke up, perking Helga's interest.

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf said. Helga went out of the living room to peek into the dining area to find Gandalf handing the leader, Thorin, a key.

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." Gandalf said.

"If there is a key, then there must be a door." A blonde dwarf spoke and Helga just leaned back to the wall and rolled her eyes. _No shit._

"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the Lower Halls." Gandalf said.

"There's another way in." She heard someone say.

"Well, if we can find it," Gandalf said. "But dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies somewhere hidden in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it, but there are others in Middle Earth who can," He said and Helga's brow furrowed... Surely, he did not mean **him. "** The task I had in mind would require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage. But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done." Yes, he **is** implying what Helga thought he was.

They were going to pass by Rivendell.

She retreated back to the living room, sitting down and thinking of how she could join this journey, yet avoid Rivendell. At all costs, she wanted to avoid Rivendell. She would not want to run into Lord Elrond and probably the others.

Her train of thoughts were cut off when she heard Gandalf silencing the dwarves

"You asked me to find the fourteenth member of our company, and I have chosen Mister Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest. And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know!" Gandalf said.

"And what of the woman? What use is she when she cannot even fend herself from her own horse!" He said, purposefully raising his voice for her to hear it in the next room.

"Helga is much more than what you have seen tonight. She might not open up at the beginning, but I believe that as this journey progresses, you will find out that she is a remarkable being," He looked at the arch where Bilbo stood and behind him, she can see Helga smiling fondly at him. He quirked a smile before turning back to Thorin. "You must trust me on this."

"Fine. We'll do it your way. Give them a contract." Thorin said and both Helga and Bilbo started to protest.

"Um-... I don't really need a contract." Helga mumbled to Thorin as he passed one to Bilbo and he went to the hallway to start reading it.

"And why is that?" Thorin questioned, raising an eyebrow to her.

"Well, how'd you say this, I'm not really in it for the gold." She said and Thorin looked at her in confusion.

"And what if something happens to you in this quest?"

"Just give me an honorable death anytime and burn me in a pyre just like what my people did." She said, smiling a bit before Thorin turned his head to Gandalf as they exchanged words for only them to hear. Helga looked around, feeling awkward and when she was about to leave, she felt Gandalf pulling her by the collar and making her face the group of dwarves.

"Helga, may I introduce to you the Company. Dwalin, Bifur, Oin, who you already met, Fili, Kili, Bombur, Ori, Dori, Nori, Gloin, Balin, Bofur, and of course, the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." She smiled and nodded towards them and they were interrupted by the small voice of the hobbit.

"Incineration?!" He asked them.

"Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye!" Bofur, the one with the funny hat, said and Helga shot him a glare.

"You alright, laddie?" Balin asked him as Bilbo tried to breathe.

"Yeah, I'm alright... I feel a bit faint." He said and Helga took a tentative step towards him.

"Think furnace, with wings!" Bofur suggested.

"Air, I need air." Bilbo muttered.

"Stop it." Helga muttered to Bofur.

"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!" He said with a small smile. Helga suddenly stopped, recalling a memory that was similar to what Bofur said.

 _"SCAR! NO!" Helga screamed as she crawled towards the dying creature, two infants at her back. She wrapped her arms around the creature, both of them crying as she felt a searing pain in her chest. The creature groaned in pain and huffed it's last breath, looking at Helga with tears in its eyes before it closed. Helga could only describe the pain as white hot before she opened her eyes and saw the creature crumbling into ash in her hands._

Her flashback was interrupted by a thud as she saw the hobbit laying flat on the floor. In instinct, she took him in her arms and turned to Gandalf.

"Just place him in the living room, my dear," Gandalf said as he followed her. He watched as she gently laid the hobbit down the armchair, years of practice perfecting this small act. Gandalf smiled fondly as she watched him for a while, knowing exactly what she was thinking about. "You miss them, don't you?"

"Every day." She said, her voice cracking a bit before she coughed and looked at him. "I'll be staying at The Green Dragon for a while. Clear my head off things." She said, walking out.

"Are you sure it's wise to drink after being kicked by a horse?" A baritone voice asked, stopping her in her tracks.

"I wasn't kicked by a horse." She laughed sarcastically and turned to see Thorin glaring at her. Eru, does he always glare?!

"Kicked by a horse or not, I wouldn't suggest you go out drinking with a wound on your head. You want a drink, there's ale in the pantry." She sighed before turning to leave. As she opened the door only to find it being slammed shut again.

"What the hell is your problem?!" She exclaimed.

"I am forbidding you to go outside with that head injury." He stated and Helga just rolled her eyes.

"Oin said it's nothing serious!" She exclaimed.

"But what if you get drunk, trip and hit your wound on a table? Let's see how serious it'll get!" That seemed to shut her up as she just looked at the floor. "Don't leave the house. I can't have the only woman of this company dying before this journey starts." He grumbled, leaving Helga to huff and turn the other way. Meanwhile, Fili and Kili just stood there, watching at the rather amusing scene that Helga and their uncle caused.

"Is it me or-"

"They bicker like an old married couple..." Fili finished before turning and leaving his brother to his own thoughts.

* * *

 _ **mga puta silang lahat - they're all fu**ers**_

 **SOO IT'S CHRISTMAS! XD It's 24 and I'm still not feeling it until my conscience whispered to me that I should give something and I feel like giving you guys another chapter! :) Hope you guys liked it and thank you for the guest who reviewed! :) Anyways, please drop some reviews and tell me guys what you thought of this chapter! :)**

 **Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

 **~Gabrielle**


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Helga woke up early, deciding to take a walk around Hobbiton to take her mind off the quest and at the same time, look for her stubborn horse. She stood up from the uncomfortable armchair she slept on and stretched her limbs with a satisfying crack and a yawn. She looked around and smiled softly at the snoring dwarves and wondered how in Arda she was able to sleep through the noise.

She tiptoed her way out of the living room and made her way first to the bathroom. She looked at the mirror and checked the wound on her head. She smiled in satisfaction when she found that it was healing quickly and doesn't need the bandage anymore. So she removed it and threw the dirty bandages in the bin before leaving the Hobbit Hole. When she got out, she just had to stop for a second and take in the scenery.

Last night, she didn't appreciate it that much because she barely saw a thing last night, but this- this is something that you would hold on to forever. Such a shame that very few people only think of the Shire as home for gentlefolk and those who can't fend for themselves, when in fact, for Helga, The Shire was one of the very few purest places in Middle Earth. Her train of thoughts were cut off when she suddenly smelt Old Toby. She looked to her left and jumped a bit as she saw a dwarf sitting back the bench and smoking his pipe.

"Oh, hello," She said, and the dwarf just turned to her and nodded. He was quite a stout dwarf, but not really as rotund as the other one. He had white hair and had very intricate braids on his beard, with a simple beard hanging just below his chin. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there Master Dwarf." She spoke.

"Helga, right?" He asked and she just nodded and they both looked back at the scenery.

"It's quite a something, isn't it?" She asked him and he made no move that he heard her. "Truly, things like these are one of the reasons I'm grateful to be alive," She said and he still sat back, as if she wasn't there. He didn't even bother to offer his name. Helga felt suddenly awkward and coughed. "Well, I better be off. I need to find my horse before the company wakes up." She said and she stepped out of the gate and wandered around the streets of Hobbiton.

Later on, when the sun was shining a bit more, Helga finally found Shadowmere, munching in what seemed to be a tray of apples near a small hobbit hole. She glared at him, who didn't mind her, and knocked at the door of the owner to claim her horse back. She paid the hobbit for the trouble before yanking Shadowmere's reins and guiding him back to Bag End. She stopped by the market to buy her personal supplies when a certain stall caught her eye. She walked towards there, and the lady hobbit gave her a wide smile.

"Good mornin' miss, may I interest you in some freshly baked chocolate?" She asked, holding out a tray to Helga, who ducked to take a whiff of it, her mouth immediately watering at the sweet scent of it.

"I'll buy two bags, please." She said, instantly smiling. If you haven't noticed it yet, one of Helga's most embarrassing weak spots was her sweet tooth. If she can't eat something sweet for a day -berries, chocolates, caramels, anything sweet!-, she'll go mad!

"Just a minute, miss!" She said, going to her crate to bring out her order.

"A sweet tooth, eh?" A voice said beside her and she turned to her right to see the young brown-haired dwarf from last night. "We'll take half a bag, please." He told the lady hobbit and she just nodded.

"You're money." She told him and he just smirked.

"Don't worry. My brother will pay for me, right Fee?" He asked, looking at Helga's left to see Fili taking the bag he bought and paying the lady.

"Well, it's my money, so my sweets." He said, and Kili looked at him in disbelief. Helga just shook her head and took the two bags of chocolate, thanking the lady, and placing it on Shadowmere's saddle.

"Your name's Hannah, right?" Kili asked, catching up to Helga's side as she walked back to Bag End holding Shadowmere's reins.

"It's Helga, actually," She said and looked at Kili who blushes. "And you are Kili?" She said and he just nodded and smiled at her. He thought for a while, then looked up at her.

"You're from the race of Men, aren't you?" He asked and he smirked.

"You can say that, yes." She told him and he looked up at her in confusion.

"So you're **not** from the race of Men?" He asked and she just chuckled as Fili, who was beside his brother, nudged him at his side and mumbled about being rude.

"You ask a lot of questions." She said before they reached Bag End, where the Company were already outside, preparing their ponies and with Gandalf preparing his horse.

"Ah, Helga! Finally found him, I see!" Gandalf said and the Company looked up, some of them sniggering and some of them minding their own business. Helga looked around and noticed someone missing.

"So, I take it that Mr. Baggins will not be joining us anymore?" She asked him and Gandalf just looked back at the door and smirked.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." He said and Gloin just laughed.

"Ha! 10 gold pieces says that you're wrong!" He said as he saddled his pony and the others agreed. And so, as they saddled their ponies and made their way out of Hobbiton, bets were placed and all they had to wait was for noon to arrive. As they passed the woods just outside of Hobbiton, Kili went near his brother and spoke in a hushed voice.

"Fee, did you hear what Hannah said awhile ago?" He asked and Fili sighed.

"Helga, Kee, Helga. And what did she say?"

"She said she's not from the race of Men." Even though he spoke in a hushed voice, the whole company heard it, and even Helga, who was at the very back, heard it.

"She didn't say that," Fili defended. "She said that you could say that she's from the race of Men, Kee." He said and Gloin, who couldn't help but join in, had said the next words as if Helga wasn't there, listening.

"From the race of Men or not, the only place a woman should be is at her home, tending to her husband, or her family, not the open road going about on journeys." You see, last night, when Helga and Gandalf were out, there were certain disagreement (a lot, in fact) about a woman in their company. Thorin thought that she would just be a nuisance and will just complain about dirt and grime, Dwalin said that she wouldn't know how to defend herself and his brother agreed, but more worried for her safety rather than her fighting skills. Gloin said that she might just be a stole-away and that they might be held accountable and be branded as accomplices if ever she was captured and both Dori and Oin agreed that it's bad luck for a woman to join the company, which technically concluded all of their concerns. But Gandalf was **very** persistent last night and they were all forced to just let her in the company. Although, Thorin and the rest of the company agreed that they would not be in charge of the woman, but the old wizard himself.

After Helga heard Gloin's comment, and the humming agreement of the company, the grip on her reins became tighter and was about to retort when she was stopped by a distant voice.

"WAIT! WAIT!" She heard someone shout from the back. Helga stopped her horse and looked around to see the small hobbit running towards them, the contract in his hand. Once he caught up with Balin, somewhere at the front, she saw Balin examining the contract and welcomed Bilbo. Once the company started moving, Fili and Kili picked up the frazzled hobbit by his arms and place him down on top of his own pony. Bets were tossed to the winners and Gandalf looked at Helga, a smug smirk on his face as he placed the bag of gold back on his satchel.

A few moments later, Bilbo started to have allergies and started sneezing. Helga felt pretty bad for the poor Hobbit, especially when she heard the dwarves making fun of him. She would know how it felt like to be suddenly deprived from the comforts of home, and she could guarantee that it's **not** easy. And speaking of home, she would have to talk to Gandalf about an issue in this journey when they rest.

That night, they stopped near the edge of a cliff. As Thorin gave out orders, Helga approached Gandalf.

"Gandalf, we need to talk." She told him, leading him behind the trees. Although it's not too far from the company, at least they can have a bit of privacy.

"What on earth is the matter, my dear?" He asked, removing his pipe between his lips.

"Tell me the truth, do you plan to pass by Rivendell?" She asked and Gandalf just raised his brow.

"Well, one thing's for sure. You catch up with my plans quicker than the leader of this company." He grumbled, and Helga gave out an annoyed sigh.

"Are we or are we not passing by Rivendell?" She asked, and Gandalf took the hint in her tone that she was serious and that she wanted an answer.

"Well, with or without a map, we would be forced to pass by and stop at Rivendell for supplies and lodging. But with a map that we cannot read, we have no choice but to stop there." He said and Helga sighed and looked down.

"I cannot go back there," She said. "I'll go around it and meet you in the Misty Mountains." She said.

"Helga, why are you so afraid of that place? You may have left them there, but I know you have not completely abandoned them." He told her and she looked at the old wizard.

"But there may be a chance that they may have lost hope on me. They may not trust me anymore."

"Then this is the best time to show them that they shouldn't," He told her. "Avoid them any longer, then your fear would come true," He told her and he knew that he had won their little argument. He smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I would have you think about it first, my dear. And besides, if you leave without an explanation to the company, then I'm afraid the more mistrust you'll receive." He said before leaving her alone. When she turned to the retreating form of Gandalf, she saw Thorin watching them intently, before shaking his head and turning the other way.

When she returned to the camp, dinner was almost ready and the scent of mushroom soup filled the air and Helga already felt her stomach rumble. She picked her spot near a tree and leaned back on it, deciding to make a weapon check. She pulled out her sword, which was strapped on her belt, her bow and set of arrows, and a dagger at the back part of her belt, covered by her tunic. She checked the blade of her dagger first, and found it quite dull. She brought out her whetstone and poured water over it before using it to sharpen her blade.

"What are you doing, lass?" Dwalin asked from across the camp. Eyes turned unto her and she looked at them, trying to figure out if they were just trying to make small talk or they really have no idea what she was doing.

"I am sharpening my blade, Master Dwalin." She said and he sent her a sharp look.

"I meant what did you do with your whetstone, lass? You're not supposed to put water in it." He said, smirking and she just shrugged.

"It's what my tribe taught me," She said and smirked and continued to sharpen her dagger. "Why do you think it's called a whetstone?" She heard the Durin brothers trying to hide a laugh while Dwalin grumbled something in Khuzdul. An insult, probably. She was stopped from sharpening her dagger when the light from the camp fire was blocked by a dwarf.

"Here you go, lass." The voice said, and she looked up to see Balin holding out a roll of paper towards her.

"I don't need a contract, Master Balin." She told him and he just smiled at her.

"This is a different contract, lass. It's based on the conditions you've said the previous night. And you're already a part of the company, meaning you're a part of the company's responsibility." He told her and she gave him a small smile, signing the contract before handing it back to him. He thanked her before leaving her to sharpen her blades.

'Company's responsibility my ass... They wouldn't want to be responsible of me.' She thought. Her train of thoughts were broken when she heard the company's small cheer for dinner .They started to gather around the pot with their own bowls, the delicious smell of the soup making everybody's mouth water. Helga just continued sharpening her blades, waiting when everybody's done. Her mother always taught her that if you were a guest, you should not be the first one to rush into the table. You should let the host eat first before getting any food, or else it would be considered rude. What surprised her, though, was when a dwarf with a hat with flaps on its sides approached her, holding a bowl of steaming hot mushroom soup and a spoon.

"Don't be shy to get, lass." He said and smiled at her. She took the bowl and nodded at him.

"Thank you, Master -... Bofur?" She asked, trying to remember the name. He smiled at her, getting it right.

"Yep, and none of those 'Master Bofur' nonesense! Bofur will be fine," He told her and nodded towards the direction of the fire. "Why don't you join us in the fire, eh? Your spot here's a wee bit cold." He invited and she just nodded and went with him to sit by the fire. She looked around and saw Bilbo, the rotund dwarf, a dwarf with -surprisingly- an axe embedded on his head, and a dwarf with a star-shaped hair.

"I'm guessing you're familiar with their names, by now. It's hard to forget lads like these!" He said and they both sat by the fire.

"Er-... Bombur, Bifur, and... Ori?" She said, a bit unsure and Bofur and Bombur just laughed. She smiled sheepishly at her own mistake. "He's not Ori, isn't he?" She asked and Bofur just shook his head.

"He's Nori," He corrected and Helga just nodded towards him. "Ori's his younger brother, the fella over there." He said, pointing at the one across from where she sat, who was, out of all things, reading. Helga just nodded and took a spoonful of the soup. She sighed and smiled before taking another one, and another one, and another one.

"This is good," She told him and looked at Bombur, who she saw with Bofur over the cooking pot awhile ago. "You made this?" She asked and Bombur nodded with a proud smile. "Well then, this journey wouldn't be as bad as it seems then, thanks to your cooking." She said, before taking another spoon of the mushroom soup.

"So, lass, where ya from?" Bofur asked, getting another bowl of soup. Helga suddenly slowed down and carefully thought about her next words. She looked at Gandalf who just raised an eyebrow towards her.

"Oh-... Y'know... Here and there, from one town to another... I haven't really stayed in a place for a long time." She said. Suddenly, Gloin, who sat near the campfire, spoke up.

"A runaway now, are we? What did you do, lass?" He asked and Helga shook her head.

"No, I'm not a runaway. I just love to travel." She said, although some of the company members weren't convinced.

"No, lass, I'm talking about where you really are from," Bofur said. "I don't suppose you were born in the open road and was travellin' around ever since." He said, and Helga smiled a bit and thought for a while. It wouldn't hurt to tell them just a bit.

"Well, I came from a mountain tribe in the east, although I wouldn't bother looking for them. They really wouldn't show themselves unless they want to." She said and Bofur nodded. Suddenly, Bifur started telling him something and he just nodded.

"Bifur asked if you had a family back in your tribe." He said and she felt her throat constrict. Family?

"Well... Of course, I did. I had a mother and father just like everyone else, along with uncles and aunts. We all had to live in one place because it's one of our virtues that family sticks together," She saidm smiling fondly. "I was the only child, though, but I had two cousins who I treated like brothers. And since they don't have a sister, I became their sister." She said and suddenly felt nostalgic. She missed them so much.

"I bet they're all at waiting for you to come home." Bilbo suddenly spoke up and Helga smiled.

"Yes, they're all waiting for me." She smiled and suddenly, Bofur spoke up.

"Nothin' sweeter than somebody waiting for you to come back home," He said, leaning back on his elbows as he stared into the fire with dreamy eyes. "I have a lass waitin' for me back in the Blue Mountains. Astrid's her name, and she has hair as yellow as the gold in Erebor... Oh, how I wish I was back in her arms right now." He said, sighing dreamily.

It would seem that Thorin heard this for from his spot on the boulder, he spoke up.

"If you miss her so much, then go ahead, leave the company and go back to the Blue Mountains." He grumbled. Helga stood up and snapped her eyes at Thorin.

"I'm sure Bofur didn't mean anything by that. He just misses Astrid, that's all. Is it such a crime to miss someone?" She asked and Thorin glared at her.

"Remember your place in this company, woman. I do not care if you were a princess in your tribe, but princess or not, you have no right to speak to me in that manner, are we clear?" He asked and Helga huffed and walked away, already so full of his pissed off attitude.

When Helga came back, the company were already asleep and Fili and Kili were on first watch, along with Gandalf. From afar, she saw Bilbo feeding his pony, Myrtle, and Helga just had to smile. It reminded her of her and her cousins when they were young. Suddenly, there was a screech in the distance. Instinctively, Helga's hand went straight to her hilt and she pulled her sword halfway out of its sheath. She looked around first, listening to her surroundings for anything else, but when nothing followed, she turned back to the direction of the company and saw the company rising one by one, and looking at where Thorin stood.

She heard Balin telling Bilbo a story that Helga heard while she was in Rivendell, from Lord Elrond herself. She heard how the dwarves of Erebor charged to Moria to reclaim it and drove away the orcs. But even though some would call it a victory, it was still a great loss, for there is no greater loss than watching your kin, your people, dying.

"But there was no feast, no song, that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call King. " She heard Balin say as she leaned on a tree trunk. For a moment, as she watched the scene unfold before her, she didn't think of Thorin as the pompous ass that he truly was. For once, she thought of him as a leader; someone you can look upon.

"But the pale orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked him.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago," Thorin said, turning to look at them. His eye caught a figure by a tree and he saw that he was Helga. "And you, where have you been?" He asked and she was about to answer when he cut her off. "It doesn't matter. But the next time you leave like that, do not even think of returning. You are already unwanted in this company. Do not be a further nuisance to us." He told her before him and the dwarves scattered and returned to their own cots, some sending Helga sympathetic glances.

And the pompous ass was back again...

* * *

 **HELLO MY READERS! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank you for those who read this story, left a review, followed it, and added it to their favorites! ^_^ I hoped you liked this chapter and that this was better than the last one. Anyways, you know what to do! Leave a review!**

 **~Gabrielle**


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Helga woke up to someone shaking her and the sounds of metal clanking and water splashing on rock. She shot up, holding her breath and looking around to see the company already starting to pack up and load their bags on their respective ponies, some of them already mounted on it. She looked to her left and saw Bofur kneeling beside her pack. She started to feel a faint ache creeping up to the side of her temple.

"Come on, lass, we're leaving." He told her, handing her a slice of bread before rising and continue helping pin packing. It suddenly came to her as she ate the slice that the company would've left her, if Bofur did not wake her up. As she shoved the last bit of bread in her mouth, she started rolling up her sleeping bag and clipping it on top of her bag. By then, the company have already mounted their ponies.

"Let's go!" She heard Thorin speak from the front. The company started moving and she saw Bofur look back at her with a sorry glance. She grumbled as she saddled her bag on Shadowmere, and let out a sigh through her nose.

"Prick..." She muttered as she mounted Shadowmere and kicked his side, spurring him to move. She whipped her reins, motioning her horse to go faster. When she caught up, he didn't even make a motion that he knew that she was there. She was starting to have enough of this treatment. What exactly were they trying to tell her? First they imply that a woman is delicate, and now, they're leaving her behind? Even the Hobbit is on the Company's good side and she wasn't? The more she thought about it, the more riled up she became. She was having none of this anymore.

As soon as they stopped for water, she dismounted her horse and marched over to the stream, where Thorin was washing his face.

"What the hell is your problem?" She said, stopping in front of Thorin, who at first, pretended not to hear her. Then he slowly stood up and turned, raising an eyebrow to her.

"Are you talking to me?" He asked, smirking. The nerve of that pompous asshole!

"Yes, I am talking to you! What the hell is your problem? I know the you don't want me in this company, but if you want me to leave, then telling me would've been better, rather than leaving me behind!" She exclaimed, yet he was still smirking. He just shook his head and opened his canteen, ready to take a drink from it.

"Well, it was not just me. The rest of the company also left you. We need every member of our company rising early, Lady Helga. We do not need members who are accustomed to having long luxurious sleeps. I am afraid we cannot afford that." Helga looked at him in disbelief. Does he actually believed that she was like that? She took the canteen in which he was drinking from and threw it on the ground.

"You listen to me, Oakenshield," She spat. "I am not one of those pampered idiots you claim me to be. I would rather die than turn into one of them. Yes, I woke up late today, so what? It won't happen again. It's not my first time on the open road, nor will it be my last, and I have probably seen worse things in life than you. So do not ever, ever, assume that I am one of those spoiled brats because you know nothing about me." She said, itching to grab his collar if not for the whole company watching and Gandalf taking a step towards them. However, she was quite content to see that she had managed to wipe out the smirk off of Thorin's face. He looked around and saw the whole company watching their exchange.

"Get ready to move out," Thorin told them and they had started packing. He turned to Helga, his eyes growing dark. "Speak to me like that again, and I will make sure that this time, we will be leaving you behind for good." He picked up his canteen and walked back to his pony. Helga huffed out a frustrated breath and kicked a nearby tree.

And as if things couldn't get any better, it started raining as they travelled. She sat on her horse, soaked and the chill reaching her bones and her hand was gripped tightly.

"Helga," She heard Bilbo say from beside her. "Are you alright?"

"Well, I'm no better than you, that's for sure," She said. She looked at the hobbit and smiled. She took of her cloak, shook it, and handed it to Bilbo. "Here."

"N-No... It's yours." He stammered.

"I insist... You poor thing." She said, muttering the last part to herself as Bilbo took it and wore it. He on the hood and gave Helga a small smile.

"Thanks," He said. Helga smiled at Bilbo, a fond memory returning to her. "I miss my home," He suddenly blurted, and Helga turned to look at him. "I'm sorry, but I just needed to say it. I can't say it with the company, because they'll think lesser of me." Helga smiled.

"Don't ever feel ashamed to say that you miss your home. It's not bad to miss your home. I mean, I miss my home everyday." She said, looking at him.

"Can you tell me more about your home, Helga?" Bilbo asked.

"Indeed, Lady Helga," A voice spoke up from beside her and Helga rolled her eyes. It was Kili. "Tell us more about your home."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to eavesdrop on someone's conversation, much less interrupt it?" She asked the dwarf next to her.

"Aye, she taught us that," Fili said from beside Bilbo. "But we've decided to ignore it." He said and Helga sighed and rolled her eyes.

"How did your mother ever survive raising the two of you?" She muttered.

"Oh, it wasn't only our mother who raised us. Thorin helped her." Fili said and she looked at Fili in disbelief.

"Thorin raised the both of you? He's your father?" She asked, looking back and forth at the two dwarves.

"You could say that... He's our uncle. Our father died when we were little, so Thorin took the responsibility and took care of us." Kili said, laughing. Helga blushed. How could she have missed that these two were related to Thorin?

"So that must make you princes." Helga said, looking at both of them and they both nodded. She shook her head and laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Kili asked and Helga just smiled at him.

"Nothing. It's just that I would never expect you to be a prince. Your brother, sure, but you... You seem too free to be a prince." She said. Kili didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, so he just sat there on top of his pony as the silence stretched upon the company.

Later on, they arrived at a small clearing, just outside of Trollshaw. They stopped by a ruined and burnt down house, which gave Helga a bad feeling about the place.

"We'll camp here for the night," Thorin declared. He dismounted his pony, along with the rest of the company, and turned to his nephews. "FilI, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." He said, and the company started setting up.

"A farmer and his family used to live here." Gandalf said somberly. Helga took the hint of his voice, and agreed; There was something foul in the air, and it made Helga uncomfortable.

"We should not stay here." Helga said. She met Thorin's eye with a serious glare, but he was still as stubborn as a mule.

"Oin, Gloin. Get a fire going." He ordered, with a 'Right you are' as a response from Gloin.

"Did you not hear us? We should not stay here." Helga exclaimed, marching to Thorin.

"I think it would be wiser to move on," Gandalf said, following her. "We could make for the Hidden Valley." He said, and he raised an annoyed brow as both Thorin and Helga sent glares at him.

"I have told you already, I will not go near that place."

"No, thanks! I'll just wait for you at the Misty Mountains!" Both of them said at the same time. They looked at each other, a brow raised in question. Gandalf, if he was not annoyed, would have found this most amusing.

But he was annoyed, and had no time to smile or laugh about the both of them.

"Why not? The elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice."

"I do not need their advice." Thorin spat.

"We have a map that we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us." Gandalf explained.

"Help? A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing. You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather and betrayed my father." He defended.

"You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past."

"I did not know that they were yours to keep." Thorin said darkly, and Gandalf huffed. He turned to Helga, hoping to reason with her.

"And you, Helga? Do you not remember a debt that you owe to Lord Elrond and two other boys who cried when they were left to fend for themselves?" He asked and Helga clenched her fists... As much as she respected Gandalf enough to try and not to strangle him, she would still be obliged to punch him right now. "I think a visit is long overdue."

"Of course I remember! Not a day goes by where I don't think about the life debt I owe Lord Elrond! And the boys! I miss them ever since I lay their sleeping bodies down, swung my bag, and never looked back!" She exclaimed, her eyes starting to become glossy from unshed tears. The Company, and even Thorin, were dumbfounded about this emotional confession. She might have been with them for a few months, but it seems that they never took the time to get to know her. They realized that the woman that they were travelling with was a stranger to them.

"Then why not go to them? Your stubborness and your shame should never come together." Gandalf said, mumbling the last part to himself.

"My answer is no, Gandalf." She said, and Gandalf angrily stomped off, leaving the company. The last thing they heard was Gandalf shouting.

"I've had enough of dwarves and the stubborness of a Skyrunner for one day!" Helga was left to think about her next move. If she were to leave now, she'd have to do it quickly and in the middle of the night. However, whatever bridge of respect was built between her and the Company will crumble, never to be repaired again. But if she continues with the Company, when Gandalf returns, he will surely find a way to bring them to Rivendell and whatevet bridges she had burned will come haunting her again... But before she had made a clear choice, a voice cut through her train of thoughts.

"What secrets have you been hiding from us, woman?" Helga turned, to see Thorin sending her a dangerous glare and with a sword held out towards her...

* * *

 **I'm baaaaaack! So Playfest is finally over, which is both a relief and very sad! We loose an excuse to avoid lectures, now :( Anyways, it gives me more time to write, now! What do you think about this chapter? Please let me know!**

 **~Gabrielle**


	5. Chapter 5

Helga looked around, internally sighing and wondering how in Arda did she end up in this predicament? On a quest to reclaim a lost home, to fulfill her sweet, sweet revenge, and now, she has the leader of the company pointing a sword at her chest... How wonderful.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Helga said, trying to remain calm, but her heart continues to beat fast. One wrong move and she'd be out of this company.

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about," Thorin said, backing her up into the burnt house. "Now tell me, why won't you go to Rivendell?" He asjed and Helga scoffed at him.

"Like you would. Why do you care?" Helga asked and Thorin just pressed the tip a bit harder, enough to peirce through her clothing, but not through her skin.

"If you truly want to be a part of this company, Helga Skyrunner, then you must not keep secrets, now tell us why won't you go to Rivendell?" He asked and Helga just glared at the leader of their company.

"You use your company as an excuse, but in reality, you would want nothing more than to find an excuse to kick me out of this company," She spat. "Well, tough! You want to know what happened all those years ago? Why I joined this quest? Why I won't pass by Rivendell? Because of Smaug!" She exclaimed, which caught everybody off guard...Smaug? That was the last thing they expected to hear from her.

"Smaug?" Thorin asked, confused and looking into Helga's eyes, only to see her telling the truth.

"Yes, Smaug took everything I had! My family, my people, my-" She choked on her words, the rage coming back again. She looked at Thorin with cold, sarcastic eyes and a scowl. "You're not the only one with a sob story in this company, Thorin Oakenshield. I, too, have been a victim of Smaug and I wish nothing more than to see that _worm_ squirm and die." She said, shaking with clenched fists. At this point, Thorin had lowered his sword out of shock and she felt a hand touch her clenched ones. She looked to her right and saw Balin, who did his best to approach the topic carefully.

"Tell us everything, lass."

* * *

It was getting dark, and Balin, Dwalin, Helga, and Thorin were seated away from the Company, who were busy making dinner. Helga, who started feeling the pain of old wounds, tried to compose herself before opening up to the three dwarves who were patiently waiting for an explanation.

"It was sometime after Erebor fell when he came," She said, looking at the brothers, then at Thorin, who nodded for her to continue. "I heard about what happened to Erebor -I even saw the smoke coming from Dale on the day itself, and I tried to warn my tribe from the danger of being so near to Smaug, but they would not listen. They just spurned me and called me _baliw_ \- crazy. I was out hunting in the forest with my-... my intended that day when I heard the screams." She said, the hairs on her body standing as she recounted the horrible memory. She looked at the dwarves, who had their brows furrowed. She continued her story.

"The first screams I heard were of the children," She said, choking and her eyes started to become glassy as she stared into nothing. "The first wave of flames hit the hut where all the children were. Thank the Valar, my nephews weren't there, because as the others tried to save the children, the hut collapsed on the little ones."

"Mahal..." Balin muttered, his eyes shut.

"I wish I could say I have forgotten what they sounded like, but being one of the people who tried to get them out, it was one of my biggest failures that I would not be able to forget and their screams have been nothing but haunting," She shuddered, a tear falling down. "The next one were the houses," She said, pausing first to compose herself. "He attacked where the elderly were, and I couldn't do anything to save my mother or my father," She said, clenching her fists as she tried to fend off the memories of the scent of the burning flesh of her parents. "Then, he burnt those who tried to flee into the forests. I told them not to head there, but in their panic, they would not listen. I lost my cousins in that wave," She said, her brows furrowed as she shut het eyes. "I barely managed to escape and when I did, I asked help from our neighboring ally, Thranduil, but he did not give it," She said, and she she heard their breaths hitch at his name. "So I fled to the west, until-... until I collapsed on the outskirts of Rivendell. There, Lord Elrond found me half dead already. I owe him my life for taking me in and saving me." She said, finishing her story. She wiped what tears have been left in her eyes and she looked around and saw something else in the eyes of the three dwarves who listened to her tale; respect.

"You were the only one left?" Thorin asked, and Helga sighed first, then slowly nodde. The four of them sat in silence, that was until Balin looked at Helga and shook his head.

It could not be...

"May I speak with you for a moment, Helga?" He asked and she nodded, signalling the others to leave. He looked her over, and asked himself how in Arda could he have missed it? Especially the armor! It was screaming right at his face!

"I know what you are," Balin said, and Helga looked at Balin, panicking inside. If he really knew what she was, then it will be all over. The Company will kill her where she stood! Helga was about to object when Balin took her by the wrist and pushed her leather armor up to her elbow, revealing a wrapped bandage around her whole forearm. He removed the bandage to reveal, not a wound, but a tatoo of a dragon. "I would not forget the armor of my former captors... and my blood-kin." He said, tears in his eyes and revealed a similar tatoo on his forearm as Helga stared at him with wide eyes.

"Y-You are a blood-kin?" She asked incredously. Her tribe rarely accepted blood kins, and when they do, it would mean the deepest of trusts and an honorable deed done for their tribe. Before Balin, she had only met one blood-kin in her life, and that was Gandalf.

"And would it be a coincidence if you have reached Cheiftan Annie?" He asked and Helga smiled sadly.

"She was my grandmother in my father's side," She said and Balin smiled fondly for a while. "How do you know her?"

"I managed to save her from a river accident back then." He said, and Helga's brows shot up to her hairline.

"That was you?! Grandmother used to tell that story!" She exclaimed, forgetting her panic of being discovered.

"Aye, that was me," He said, but he gripped Helga's arm, stopping the young girl from getting too excited. "But Helga, before anything else, you must answer this. You must answer honestly, no matter how horrible the truth may seem," He said and Helga nodded. Balin looked at him with serious eyes. "Did your tribe have anything to do with Smaug's attack on Erebor?"

"No! We may have known about Smaug for a couple of millenias, but we never knew that he was planning on attacking Erebor!" She exclaimed and Balin shushed her, nodding from understandment.

"That was all I needed to know," He said, then he looked around, checking if any of the Company members were close. However, he only saw them gathered around the fire, enjoying dinner while Bilbo set out into the direction of the ponies with two bowls. Balin took the bandage in his hands and started wrapping it around Helga's forearm. "Listen, you must not let anybody else know what you are," He said, tying the knot and pulling her sleeve down. "If any of the Company members learn about this, they might tell it to Thorin and if he knew about what you truly are, he will be less understanding than I am and will be more impulsive, trust me," He said, patting her hand in his as she nodded. Balin smiled fondly as he looked at her. But then, he remembered something... Something extremely important as he looked around, trying to detect it. "Where is he hiding?" Balin asked frantically and, at first, Helga looked at him with confusion.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"Where is he? Surely, at your age, the two of you would be bound by now. Where is he?" Helga then understood what he was talking about. Feeling a new wave of emotions hitting her, she looked down and pressed her lips.

"He died... Just when we were outside Rivendell." She said and Balin hugged her and she felt a tear slip from her eyes. He shushed her and sighed... He knew how painful it was to experience what she did. He had been a witness to it; when your other half dies. To Helga's kind, nothing is more painful. When she had calmed down, he pulled away and saw her wiping the tears from her eyes. He smiled fondly as he looked into her brown ones.

"You have Annie's eyes." He said, and Helga smiled, sensing that there is another story behind Balin and her grandmother. But before she could ask, a third voice spoke up.

"What is all this about?" Thorin asked, his hands behind his back as he looked at the both of them.

"Well, it seems that Helga's grandmother was an old acquaintance of mine." Balin said, smiling at Thorin who just nodded.

"May I speak to you, Helga?" He asked, and for the first time since she met him, he didn't sound pissed off at her. Helga just nodded and Balin left the both of them alone.

"Before you speak," She said, stopping him. "If you're here to scold me, try your luck later." She grumbled and Thorin frowned.

"Quite the opposite, really," He said and Helga quirked an eyebrow. "I would like to apologize for-"

"For being a pompous ass and leaving me behind?" She asked, sarcastic and a brow raised.

"For my mistrust towards you. I was wrong to push you away from the group, given what you told us. And an extra pair of hands might become more useful to the Company."

"Oh, so I'm just an extra pair of hands, now?" She said, smirking.

"You'll only be getting one apology tonight, Lady Skyrunner." He grumbled and Helga smiled.

"I would set aside that apology if you stop calling me Lady Skyrunner. Helga would do." She said and Thorin just smiled and nodded. For the first time, he realized how the fire in her eyes reflect; like dark, molten, chocolate. He remembered how he thought that she was this weak, pampered woman, but after hearing her story, it was as if she was a whole new person. But the sound of running feet interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Uncle! Trolls!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Uncle! Trolls!" He heard his youngest nephew exclaim, and all of the company members stood and readied their weapons.

"Where?" He asked, pulling out his sword.

"In the forest. They've took four of our ponies, and Helga's horse and now Bilbo's trying to get them back!" Fili explained and Helga sent a pointed look at the brothers.

"You let our hobbit go alone?!" She exclaimed, running towards the direction where they came from, her sword already drawn. Thorin looked at his nephews.

"We will talk about this later." He glared, running after Helga before all of them followed. They stopped when they saw Helga crouched behind a bush and Bilbo being picked up by a troll.

"Argh! Blimey! Bert! Bert! Look what's come out of me 'ooter! It's git arms and legs and everything!" The troll exclaimed. Thorin made a move to advance, but Helga held a hand to his chest, stopping him. He looked at her and her brows were furrowed in annoyance. She signalled all of them to crouch down and be quiet, which they did. Dwalin, Fili, and Kili approached Thorin.

"So what's the plan?" Kili asked and Thorin looked at him.

"It was your responsibility," He scolded. "You and your brother were supposed to watch over the ponies. It's a simple task! If you and your brother had done it well, then you both wouldn't have been careless enough to let a troll sneak past the both of you!" He said and Helga shushed him.

"Now is not the time to be pointing fingers! One of our members is covered in troll mucus and is caught by a troll, for Valar's sake! He's about to die if we don't make a decision now!" Helga hissed and was surprised when Kili suddenly stood up, his sword drawn, and walked up to the three trolls.

"Kili! Get back here!" Thorin hissed, but Kili continued walking.

"Drop him!" Kili exclaimed and Thorin made a move to go, but Helga held him , she was not looking at him, but at the scene; analyzing, assessing on how to execute this rescue with little casualties.

"Let me go! He is my nephew!" Thorin told Helga.

"Wait..." Helga said, still looking at the scene. However, Thorin was not in the mood and he was getting impatient and worried about his nephew.

"Is this how your kin died? Your nephews? You let them be because you were too much of a coward to make a move? Too late?" He asked and Helga looked at him, all emotions -the warmth he saw- was gone, and it was cold, and deadly.

"Now." She said as Bilbo was thrown towards Kili and in a flash, she disappeared in front of Thorin and she was letting out a battle cry, charging at the trolls. Thorin stood up, let out his own battle cry, and the rest of the company followed.

The following moments were a blur for Helga. Driven by her anger at Thorin and the determination of saving the poor hobbit, she hacked, slashed, and stabbed at the annoyingly thick skins of the trolls. Seeing that she was nowhere near penetrating their skins, she slashed harder and faster until a troll turned and swiped her away with a mighty swing of its hand, sending her flying towards the pot. All Helga remembered was a searing sensation on her left arm and a pain at the back of her head, before she was submerged in a dark dream of her nightmares.

Thorin was trying to remove his sword from the heel of a troll, when he heard his eldest nephew shout.

"Helga!" He turned, frantically looking for the blonde haired woman, when he saw her body lying near the fire, unconscious and with her left arm a hair's breadth from the fire. His nephew was already making his attempts to drag Helga's body away from the fire, but with her being human, she was slightly heavier than them. He ran to help his nephew and wrapped his arms around her torso and dragged her away from the fray. He held her head and felt a trickle of fear when he felt something wet on his hand. He sat her up and checked the back of her head and felt chills rise up from his arms to the back of his neck. The clean, blonde hair of Helga was now tainted with crimson red. He checked her arm, and saw that she only had minor burns, thanks to her leather armor. But before he could do anything about her injuries, he heard his youngest nephew shout.

"Bilbo!" Kili exclaimed. Thorin stood up, his sword ready and he looked up to see the hobbit, the two trolls holding Bilbo by the arms and legs.

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off." Thorin looked at Bilbo, frustrated as he stabs his sword to the ground. The others dropped their own weapons, too, while Thorin cast a look at the still unconscious Helga, and prayed to Mahal that all of them would find a way out of this predicament... alive.

* * *

 _Helga opened her eyes and found herself standing in front of her house. She saw her mother and grandmother kneeling in front of their small garden, while her father was chopping wood at the side of their house. She tried calling out to them, but she cannot even hear her own voice. She tried to take a step and found that her feet were planted firmly on the ground and the same could be said with her hands on her side. Everything was eerily silent, and there was only a deafening ringing echoing through her ears. She looked back at her mother, and for once, she saw her mother laughing with her grandmother. After almost a millennia of their mother and daughter tension, after years and years of the fights of the both of them, they were smiling and laughing together. This sight made Helga cry, as she rarely saw her mother so happy. But then, her mother looked back and saw her. Slowly, she stood up and smiled sweetly at her. She wanted nothing more than to run to her and feel the comfort of her arms once again. She held out a hand towards her and she spoke, however no sound came out. Then in a blink of an eye, she was standing in front of her, her face as clear as day. And then, she spoke again._

 _"Helga." Followed by a blood curling screech, the house, her grandmother, her father, and her mother, who was standing in front of her were engulfed in flames, the flesh melting off of her bones as clear as if it was real. Then, as Helga let out a scream of her own, the wall of flame in front of her disappeared and she regained movement in her body. Before her lay their house, burning and crumbing, along with the burnt corpses of her parents and grandmother. She ran to them and let out a wail as she saw up close, the burning body of her mother. She was not able to take it and her knees gave out. She dug her hands in the soil and she threw it at the cursed dragon who caused all of this. She then pulled at her hair, the pain biting due to her braid. She cried and wailed until she felt like her lungs ran out of air and would collapse. She was so lost in her anger, her grief, her heartache, that she wasn't able to notice a voice calling out to her._

 _"Helga!" She did not recognize the voice. It was deep, dark... soothing. "Helga! Wake up! Get up, you stubborn woman!" The voice called out... But why should she? She had no strength left... No family... She has nothing... Why should she get up? It would be easier if she would just lie here and let the flames consume her._

* * *

The trolls managed to tie the Company into sacks, the last one being Helga, who they unceremoniously dumped on top of the pile of dwarves. Fili and Kili exclaimed about how they should treat her gently and one of the trolls just grunted.

"She's dying, for sure. And she'll be dead, so why should we?" It said. And now, the hobbit tried arguing with the trolls on how to cook them. Imagine that! The hobbit truly wants to get rid of the Company so he may return to his precious Bag End. He looked at the unconscious woman lying on top of him, her head resting at the crook of his neck. He hoped that she would wake soon. She had a dagger in her belt, and they could use it to escape.

"Helga," He whispered to her ear, but to no avail, she did not move. "Helga, wake up," He said, a bit more commanding this time. Although he felt her breathing on his neck, it was faint. He could also feel her heartbeat becoming fast through the layers of cloth between them. Suddenly, he felt something wet drop on his neck. He looked at her face and saw that there were tears streaming down her face. Through their layers of clothing and armor, he felt hear her rapid heartbeat, and started to fear as it started to speed up. "Get up, you stubborn woman!" He said, nudging her with his knee. But suddenly, she stirred and he felt himself smile. However, as he looked at her, he saw a pair of confused brown eyes look at him.

Helga suddenly felt a stab of pain through her brain, and she looked up to see blue eyes staring at her in silent relief. She felt her eyelids grow heavy as she looked at him.

"Helga, get your knife... Cut us out of here," Thorin and ssid, and Helga just stared at him, not understanding. "Helga, get a grip!" He exclaimed, but it was useless. Helga was dizzy from the hit on her head, and she might injure herself even more if she made an attempt on the dagger. He had no choice but to lie down and let her come back to her senses.

Until one of the trolls picked up Bombur and held him over its mouth.

"Not-... Not that one, he- he's infected! He's got worms in his... tubes." Bilbo exclaimed and the troll dropped Bombur in disgust. Then, he started to say thay everyone was infected, which raised protests against it. Thorin immediately caught up with what the hobbit wanted to do, and kicked the others. As they started to agree with veimg riddled with parasited, the troll's face immediately went sour.

"What would you have us do? Let them all go?" One troll said and another one picked a now, fully awake Helga and wrappes its fingers around her body.

"What about the lady? She probably won't, being picky with her food and all." He said, and Helga forgot about her head ache and felt steam come out of her ears.

"You what?! _Puta_! I've got worms as long and thick as my innards, you bastard!" She said, managing to squirm her arm free and get her dagger, only for her to stab the finger of her captor. It dropped her immediately and she fell hard, bum first. She squirmed backwards until she felt her back hit a boulder.

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret," The troll said, turning towards Bilbo. "Is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?" Bilbo asked incredously.

"Fools?"

Then Helga heard a voice she never thought she'd hear.

"Then dawn will take you all!"


	7. Chapter 7

Helga leaned back to the boulder and shut her eyes. Her headache was coming back, and she wasn't in a pretty mood, along with the shouting of the dwarves around. She hung her head and pulled at her hair, hoping that the headache would soon go away.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Kili smiling at her, along with Fili, who looked concerned after being the one to spot her unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Kili asked.

"My head has been head on a scalding pot, my arm almost became roast, and I just had a troll insult me, what do you think?" She said and she saw him shrink a little. She felt bad; she meant it as a joke. She smiled and him and held his forearm.

"I'm fine... Its not your fault. You were just doing wjat you thought was right," She said, giving him a smile smile before it spread out into a wider one. She held out her hands towards him and shook it. "Now, why don't you help me up and fetch me some water, yeah?" She said and KilI smiled while Fili went to get her canteen of water. He held out a hand and he helped her up, grunting at her weight.

"For a woman, you are quite heavy," he said once she's up. She placed het hands on her hips. Kili saw the look on her face and shrunk a bit. "I-I'm not saying you're fat! Er-... I didn't mean anything by it." Kili said and let out a relieved smile when he heard Helga laugh.

"Oh, don't fret! Its not like I'm your uncle; all stoic and serious about anything. Its like he has this stick up his bum!" Helga exclaimed and Kili just smiled, remembering how he scolded him. Helga saw this and looked at him.

"Is that how your uncle always treats you?" She asked, and he sighed.

"I wouldn't say always, but I know why he treats me like that," He said, walking up to the heap of weapons to look for theirs. "Fili's the important one; the crowned prince, the first born, the best. I'm the second born, second best, the expendable one." He said as he sheathed his sword. Helga snapped her head up as he said the last part. She stood up and looked at him with a serious expression.

"No one is expendable. No one's supposed to be treated that way," She said, then squatting to look for her sword. She smirked as she knew exactly what to say to make him feel better. "And if it makes you feel any better, I was the third born."

"Really?" He asks incredously and squatting, too, to meet her in eye level. Helga nodded with a small smile.

"Not really among brothers and sisters; I was an only child, but yes, I was the youngest among us cousins," She said and nodded her thanks as Kili handed her her sword. "I had two older male cousins and I can see that my father, who never experienced having a son, favored my eldest cousin," She said, standing up and sheathing her sword. "My grandmother," This she said with a sigh, as if remembering a distant, embarassing memory. "How she favored the both of them. She takes pride that the eldest among us was becoming trained as an apprentice to be the next chieftan and the second born was going to be the head healer of our tribe. She won't stop talking about them to her friends, bragging about them, and pampering them. She gives them her full attention while I- well, she even forgot my name sometime." She said and Kili just looked at her, not knowing weather to pity her or to salute her for not turning up as a rebellious teenager.

"You must have despised your cousins."

"Well, my cousins thought that she's alright, albeit a bit annoying, but they don't know that when they're gone, she's the spawn of Sauron."

"Your childhood must have been awful." Kili said and Helga smiled.

"Not really. I got over the fact that she'll never notice me or accept me just as I am, unless I do something great like what my two cousins did. But despite our differences, we still treated each other like brothers and sisters, and that is what I loved about them." She said, shrugging the topic off.

* * *

It was already morning when all of the dwarves managed to free each other from the sacks and to bring down the spit. As Thorin and Gandalf talked underneath a stone troll, Helga climbed it, hoping to retrieve her dagger, which was still stuck on a troll's hand. She sat on top of its head and brought out a stone and a rusted nail she saw in the burnt down house. She started to chisel the stone around her dagger, and gave out a satisfied smile as she started pulling out the dagger.

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?" Thorin asked Gandalf.

"Oh, not for an age, not since a darker power ruled these lands," He said, and they both looked at each other, knowing what it meant. "They could not have moved in daylight."

"There must be a cave nearby." Thorin said, making a move to look for it, but Gandalf stopped him.

"But first, I think you owe the woman in our company an apology." Gandalf said, and Thorin rolled his eyes. Of course the wizard would know.

"If I had not said what I said, she would not have charged to rescue my nephew." Thorin defended.

"If your nephew was not in trouble and you still said what you said, she would have knocked you out so hard that you would see the Valar... Two Valars!" He said. Thorin just looked at Gandalf.

"She is reckless, careless, and-"

"Were you not the same when you were younger? What would you feel like if you had lost Fili, or Kili, and someone blames you for their deaths? If someone blames you for the death of your people?"

"Do not talk of such things! I am not responsible for their deaths! That _slug_ holing in our mountain is the cause of all of this!" Thorin exclaimed, not able to stand the thought of losing his nephews... His family... Your guilt being rubbed on your face.

"Apologize to her," Gandalf said, momentarily distracted as dust fell on their shoulders. They looked up and saw Helga looking triumphant, holding a dagger on her hand, before jumping off to the back of the troll. He looked at her fondly before mumbling to himself. "You have much more in common than you think."

Later on, the Company found a cave where the trolls have been hoarding treasure. They entered it, only to be met with a horrible smell.

"Oh, what's that stench?!" Nori exclaimed as he scrunched his face.

"It's a troll hoard. Be careful what you touch." Helga was walking down into the cave and was about to take another step when Gandalf said it. She looked down and saw something gooey on the place where she was about to step on. She couldn't make out what it was in the dark, and something told her that she didn't want to know. So, with a shudder, she turned to the opposite direction and exited the cave.

"You could not wish for a finer blade." Gandalf told Thorin, as he was about to put down Orcrist. He held on to the sword, of course, with a few reservations, and he drew it out of its sheath. As the other dwarves went rambling about making a 'long term deposit', Thorin saw a sword that caught his eye. He pulled it out and his brows furrowed. He had not seen this type of sword yet. It's cross guard, fashioned to make every curve sharp and its tips pointed. The handle seemed peculiarly slim and long, but as he held it, it was not weak or whatsoever- it was solid metal inside the bundle of leather. But the blade and the engravings is what caught Thorin's eye. The shape of the blade looked similar to Thorin's other, older, sword, except the tip of this sword was curved, not pointed. However, the engravings of this sword was similar to dwarven fashion. Gandalf smiled as Thorin examined the sword.

"Of what fashion is this sword?" He asked, and Gandalf just shook his head and shrugged.

"I have no clue... But you may give it to Helga as a peace offering. Her sword seemed a bit worse for wear." Gandalf said, and he saw the gears in Thorin's head working.

He has no idea how grateful she will be.

* * *

As Gandalf exited the cave, he gave Bilbo his very own sword- more of a dagger for Helga, and they had an unexpected company; a wizard named Radagast. As the two wizards discussed in private, Helga was sitting on a rock, her pack in front of her and a wooden bowl with water and herbs on her lap. She parted her hair in the area where her wound was, and hissed as a few of her golden locks got tangled in her fingers, tugging it as she pulled at it. She held a wet rag on the other hand as she dabbed water on the wound, hoping to clean it.

"Argh! This is impossible! Unless I grow eyes at my back!" She said, dropping the rag on the bowl with a _plop!_

"It must be your lucky day, then," A voice said behind her. She turned to see Thorin standing there and surprisingly, smiling at her. She was still angry at him for what he said to her awhile ago, so she had no plan on talking to him. She turned to get the rag and she made and attempt to separate her hair again and dab the herbal water on her scalp. However, she froze as she felt fingers gently wrap around hers and put them down on her lap. For some reason, in that simple action, thoughts that Helga did not even bother to think about Thorin rushed into her brain.

For once, how his fingers felt good around hers, and how his arms almost wrapped around hers just felt so, so right. She expected his fingers to be rough and callous, but found that it were just regular fingers, if not thicker, that were so warm around her cold ones. She felt her cheeks heat up at the thought of his fingers. Oh, Valar! Stop her from these evil, evil, thoughts! However, things did not get better as she felt him weave the said fingers through her hair, and how she wished that he'd keep them there! She never experienced anyone running their fingers through her hair; her mother just combed, tugged, and braided her way through her golden mess of curls, while her nephews mostly stuck their own hands in her locks, tangle it, and pull at it as if they were stopping a horse from running towards a cliff. But what he was doing now did wonders to her nerves. They sent tingles from her neck all the way to the tips of her toes and fingers. This new sensation had her completely relaxed, and almost made her tongue loose.

Almost.

All of this, of course, happening in a span of a few seconds. Once he had a clear view of the wound, he took the rag from her unusually cold and limp hands.

"Are you alright, Helga?" He asked, and Helga snapped out from her train of thoughts.

"Oh, me? Y-Yes! I-I'm good." She stuttered. However, Thorin did not look convinced.

"Your hand was unusually cold." He said, and Helga placed it on her cheeks. However, she could not decide if her hand **was** really cold, or her cheeks were really hot. But, it was the first one, and she knew why.

"The tips of my fingers just gets easily cold when it gets soaked in water." She said, and Thorin just hummed in response. What Thorin thought was a comfortable silence was actually awkward for Helga's part. There he was, the leader of their Company, with his hand weaved through her hair and attending to her wound. And to think that he was going to be a King! What stories she'll tell to her children!

"It doesn't look that bad," Thorin said, looking at her wound. "It did not cut too deep, however, it might leave a scar." He said and Helga just nodded.

"Thank you." She said, quickly standing up and holding the bowl on one hand, throwing its contents aside and placing it in her pack, not saying a word to Thorin and trying to wane down the blush on her pale cheeks.

"Helga," Thorin started. "I would like to apologize... again... for my actions last night. It was uncalled for," He said, and took it as a good sign when she stopped packing. He brought out the sword he found and held it towards her. "I would like you to accept this sword as a peace offering -a symbol of our acquaintance." He said. He saw how Helga fist looked up with uninterested eyes, which grew wide as she realized the sword. She went pale and slowly stood up, her mouth open.

It was as if she had seen a ghost.

"W-Where did you get that?" Helga choked, and she held a hand out to touch it.

"It was in the troll hoard. I thought it would be fitting for you, with your armor and all," He mumbled, leaving out the part where Gandalf suggested he give it to her. He watched as Helga took it from his hands and unsheathed it, her eyes glassy from unshed tears. She ran her fingers through the engravings and a few tears fell from her eyes as she closed it. "Helga, are you alright?" He asked, a bit worried about her odd behavior. However, she dropped the sword and sheath and rushed to Thorin, pulling him into a hug. With her being a bit taller than him, she had to duck her head a bit to whisper on her ear.

"Thank you! Thank you! You have no idea how grateful I am for this sword!" She said, her tears stopped falling, and she cannot stop grinning. The other company members looked confused at the scene. Just yesterday, they were ready to rip at each other's throats and now... They're this! Helga pulled from Thorin and showed her the sword, trying to explain to him why she reacted the way she did.

"Thorin, this sword," She said, giddiness escaping her voice. "This is Blackfyre! This sword was mine! I lost it when-... When I collapsed in Rivendell." She said and Thorin gave a small smile and nodded at her, accepting her thanks. But before any of them could say another word, they heard a strange howling from afar.

* * *

 **Okay, so I know you expect that Helga's race will be revealed in this chapter, but the thing is, this was actually a bit longer than expected, so I had to split it into two :/ Anyways, how was Helga? XD Thorin might be a bit OOC, but it's my first time writing a cute scene with Thorin and an OFM. Anyways, you guys can leave a review and hang on for the next chapter! :)**

 **~Gabrielle**


	8. Chapter 8

"Was that a wolf? Are there-are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked, and Bofur shook his head.

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Bofur said, looking around. Then, from the small cliff behind them, a Warg appeared and it leapt into the company. As it was about to bite down on one of the dwarves, Thorin managed to kill it with his new sword, Orcrist. They were luck that Kili saw it, because another Warg appeared from the other side and was able to shoot it down. However, it only made it stumble down to them and it rose back up and was met by Dwalin's axe.

"Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind." Thorin exclaimed, as he pulled out Orcrist from the dead Warg.

"Orc pack?" Bilbo asked.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf asked, walking towards Thorin.

"No one." Thorin replied.

"Who did you tell?!" Gandalf demanded.

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?" Gandalf looked around first, then looked at Thorin with a frown on his face.

"You are being hunted." Gandalf said, which caused the other dwarves to panic.

"We have to get out of here!" Dwalin exclaimed.

"We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted." Ori said, and Helga rushed to the place where the ponies were and saw that Shadowmere was still there. She sighed and grabbed her other things from the horse, and slapped its rear.

"Run, girl!" She said, as she watched her dear friend run away from her. She just prayed to the Valar that Shadowmere would be safe and the orc packs wouldn't catch up to her. When she got back to the company, she saw Radagast and Gandalf talking.

"I'll draw them off." Radagast offered and Gandalf looked at him as if he was insane. Well... He sort of is already. Helga rushed to the rock where she sat on and discarded her old, steel, sword and tied Blackfyre to her belt.

"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you!" Gandalf exclaimed

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try."

* * *

The Company ran across the field, the sun blazing as their hopes of not being caught. So far, they have not yet been seen and Rhadagast's plan is working, so far. There had been a few close calls, such as Ori almost being caught by the wargs, and those beasts jumping over the rock they were hiding in.

However, their luck had to run out at one point. A warg an its rider was on top of the rock that they were leaning on. They all looked up, holding their breaths as the warg's nose inched closer to the edge of the rock. Thorin looks at Kili and Helga and nods, needing no words. Kili and Helga notched an arrow and drew their bows. Together, the pushed themselves from the rocks and aimed at thwir own targets; Kili at the Warg and Helga at the rider.

But it proved that arrows weren't enough as the warg fell and howled in pain. Helg made a jump to keep its jaw shut, hugging her arms around its snout and causing it to bite it's tongue off. As it thrashed and tried to open its mouth, it slightly grazed her arm, warg blood and saliva now mixing with her own blood. However, she held on and waited for Dwalin to finish off the Warg. As soon as the Warg stopped moving, they heard another set of howls.

"Move! Run!" Gandalf shouted as they ran again. With the occasional looking behind, the company members exclaimed how more and more were coming, and they were catching up.

"Kili! Helga! Shoot them!" Thorin shouted and Helga and Kili stopped and stood back-to-back and started shooting at the wargs from different directions. It was all a flurry of arrows flying and quick turns of heads to Helga when she vaguely heard Kili shout.

"Where's Gandalf?!"

"He's abandones us!" Dwalin growled. Seeing that Kili was doing well on his own, Helga unsheathed Blackfyre and looked at any oncoming Wargs. She saw Ori shoot a rock at a warg with his slingshot, only to anger it more. She ran to his rescue and hacked on the neck of the foul beast and pulling her sword out.

"This way, you fools!" She heard Gandalf shout and she turned to see the Company sliding into a hole under a rock. She was nearly there when she heard Thorin call out to his nephew.

"Kili!" He shouted and Helga turned to see Helga still shooting arrows. She huffed and ran back to where he is, and seeing a warg charging at him.

"Kili!" Helga shouted. She tackled Kili to the ground, dodging the attack of the Warg. They both scrambled to their feet and Helga pushed his bow tp him. "Run to your uncle! Now!" She ordered as he ran back to where the rest if the Company was. Helga ran as fast as her feet could carry her, for she could feel that the Warg behind her was a hair's breadth away.

"Come on, Helga!" Thorin shouted, and as Helga was nearly there Thorin had his arm held out and took it. However, she looked back and saw the Warg's jaw open in front of her face and, out of all the things, she tripped, bringing the King Under the Mountain with her. Luckily, they both stumbjed down the hole that lead to to the Company's hiding place, and Helga landed on her back; panting, tired, and staring blankly at the ceiling, her heart racing at the thought of a Warg's jaw almost snapping in front of her face. Her hands immediately flew to her face, to check if the beast took anything from her face, and was relieved when she didn't have any wounds. Then, Gandalf entered her line of sight, smiling and holding out a hand. She took it and groaned as she stood up, feeling her muscles starting to ache already.

"I am getting way too old for this, Gandalf." She said and Gandalf just scoffed at her.

"You? What about me?! At least you get to keep a youthful body!" He exclaimed, but Thorin shushed them all as they heard a horn sounding, then a dead orc falling down towards them. They took the arrow sticking out from his chest and frowned.

"Elves," Thorin spat. But the sound of horses faded away and most of the Company relaxed. He looked around and saw Helga's bleeding left arm. "You are hurt." He said blankly. He noticed the bamdage on Helga's right arm and made a motion to unwrap it.

"DON'T-... Don't touch it..." Helga said, pulling her hand away from him.

"If you do not wrap it, it will get infected!" Thorin said, and Helga tore a piece of her undershirt and wrapped it around her arm. She looked at Thorin and raised a brow. He huffed and accepted defeat when Helga looked around.

"Besides, we need to find a way out of- Oh, look! Why don't we follow the pathway? What do you think?" She asked.

"We follow it of course!" Dori said, and the rest of the Company agrees, following it.

"I think that would be wise."

* * *

Helga had a bad feeling about all of this. She could hear the faint roar of waterfalls, and she could smell the fresh air. She fell behind the Company as she thought about it, and eventually was right.

"Rivendell." She heard Bilbo say and she stopped in her tracks. She knew that she could not avoid this place forever.

"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy?!" Thorin accused Gandalf and the wizard frowned.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself." Gandalf scolded. Helga was not able to hear the rest of the conversation, and was only focused at the sight of Rivendell. For 1200 years, Helga dreaded of coming back to this place. And now that she was here, she had no idea to what she would say to Lord Elrond. She only noticed the Company moving, and she moved along with it. She walked its familiar entrance, with the two elven statues 'guarding it', as she first thought. It seems that it was not only her who looked uneasy about being in this place. And then, she sees a familiar face.

"Mithrandir!" Lindir greeted Gandalf. Helga never had a problem with her height. She was a 5"6 blonde all her life and she never had a problem with that. However, along with a company of dwarves, she wished nothing more than to shrink her height at this moment to hide behind the Company. Then, elven horns were blown and then they were surrounded by elves on mighty horses.

" _Ifridî bekâr!_ Hold ranks!" Thorin shouted. And Helga, being the coward that she is at the moment, stood behind Thorin and faced her back on where Lord Elrond was at the moment. Oh, yes. She may have ran away from Rivendell, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't know him well enough by his armor. That is how she first met him.

"Gandalf." She heard him say. She felt her heart beating even faster and she her grip on Blackfyre tightened.

"Lord Elrond. _Mellonnen! Mo evínedh_?" Gandalf said. From what little she knew from the elvish language, she knew that what Gandalf said was that Lord Elrond was a friend.

 _"_ _Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui,"_ Lord Elrond said. "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near."

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf said, a bit embarrassed. Suddenly, Helga felt Thorin step forward. She turned and thanked the Valar that Lord Elrond's focus was on Thorin.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain." Lord Elrond said.

"I do not believe we have met." For Helga, she found it surprising that he was able to keep his calm and not be too rude at Lord Elrond.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain." Lord Elrond said fondly.

"Indeed; he made no mention of you." And there it was.

" _Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin._ " Elrond said, and Helga smirked as the dwarves voiced out insults.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?!" Gloin exclaimed.

"No, master Gloin, he's offering you food." Gandalf said, a hint of mirth in his voice. Helga almost laughed as all of the dwarves gathered around and discussed about it. But, before they could say anything, they broke off as she Lord Elrond spoke again.

"It seems that you have a woman in your Company," He said, and the dwarves all looked back and forth at Helga and Elrond, who they assumed were acquaintances. Helga was looking down and Lord Elrond was smiling fondly. "Welcome home, Dragon Rider."

* * *

 _Ifridî bekâr! =_ Ready weapons!

 _Mellonnen! Mo evínedh_?" = My friend! Where have you been?

 _Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui_ = We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South. We slew a number near the Hidden Pass.

 _Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin =_ Light the fires, bring forth the wine. We must feed our guests.

* * *

 **OoO Soooo that's the big reveal of Helga's race! So, did you guys had it coming, or were you didn't expect it? Anyways, please leave a review! I want to know what you guys think, especially this chapter! 3**

 **~Gabrielle**


	9. Chapter 9

Helga looked at her right arm in the mirror, debating whether she should leave the bandage or not. There's no use in hiding her tatoo anymore, since the company already knows it.

The Company...

Oh, Eru, what must they think of her now? As you might have guessed, the Company, except Balin, didn't take it well. Once it was revealed thay she was, indeed, a dragon rider, they all backed away from her in an instant, as if she had a disease.

But what hurt most of all was how their leader, how Thorin looked at her.

All her hard earned respect and trust will all be gone now, and she has to earn it again. Dammit... She decided leaving her bandage on. It would be best not to remind the Company once more about what she was. But why should she? She was proud to be a dragon rider. So what if they hate her? Shouldn't they be asking why she would want to kill a dragon in the first place? Helga walked the hallways of Rivendell once more, her heart racing at the chance that she would be running into **them.** She prayed hard to the Valar that it wouldn't come to that. She wouldn't know what to say or what to do when she comes face to face with them. Well, that is if they were still here. They are old enough to venture out in the wilderness anyways, but if they are still here, oh, Valar, help her.

As she entered the veranda where the company was, Elrond waved for her to come in. As she passed by the company, their stares on her were unreadable and Balin just gave her a tight smile and a nod. She approached the table where Elrond sat and she could see that Thorin was looking at her with his infamous icy glare. She felt a stab in her chest at the gesture and gave everybody in the table a small smile and nod before sitting on the empty chair... Which was in front of Thorin.

Oh, Valar...

She just sat there and listened to Elrond, Gandalf, and Thorin converse about the swords they found in the troll caves. It turns out that not only were their swords from Gondolin, but it seems that they've made history in battles.

"And you, Helga. What brings you to Rivendell? Your _departure_ the last time you've been here was unexpected and saddened us all... Especially Amren. He would be most happy to see you." He said and Helga looked up at Elrond.

"They are still here?" She asked them and he nodded and smiled.

"I'm sure you would get the chance to reunite with them after our meal." He said, thinking he's doing her a favor, but he's not. Helga wasn't able to touch her food during dinner due to both Thorin's pressuring glare and the thought of reuniting with the Amren and Alvor. At this point, she didn't know what she wanted to happen; for dinner to be finally over, or for dinner to never end.

But, one way or another, it did. Elrond bowed to the dwarves and left, saying that he had to check on his children, while the dwarves stood up and was about to leave when Thorin was held up by a blonde-haired woman.

"Thorin, wait!" She said, grabbing her elbow but he shook it off.

"I have nothing left to say to you, but this: do not dare think that you are part of this company anymore. If you just told me that you were a-a... dragon rider, in the beginning, I would've thought about it-"

"See, you wouldn't have. The moment that you would've hear the word 'dragon', you would kick me out of Bag End yourself! You would have thought that I had something to do with Smaug's attack!"

"Well, what if you did?! You and your whole cursed tribe might have planned with Smaug to steal all of the riches in Erebor!"

"Do not speak of my tribe in that manner! You know nothing of what you speak of!" She shouted, and saw the look of triumph in his eyes. She bit her lip and looked down."Thorin, please, I am begging you," She told him, tears in her eyes. "Isolate me all you want, but please, do not stop me on this journey."

"Why?" He asked, and Helga just stared at him, her mind going on and on about the lies she could tell him, but with lies comes with consequences. The next time he figures out he's lying to her, no amount of pleading could persuade Thorin to let her join on the quest. "Then you have your answer. You cannot join this company. For respect, you would have to earn trust, and as of this moment, I will never trust nor respect you. You can go back to your precious dragons." He spat as he left Helga standing, her head down and her shoulders slumped in defeat. The company, not wanting to anger their leader, just sent her sympathetic glances as they passed by her.

Guess she would have to march into Erebor herself, then...

* * *

"I told you, joining the company is a futile attempt," Helga told Gandalf as they walked around the winding paths in one of the many gardens in Rivendell. "We are not yet even halfway through the journey, and I've already been kicked out..." She said and sighed heavily, and Gandalf blew out a cloud of smoke.

"I am sure Thorin would find time and reason to accept you back in The Company," He said, as they strode through the pathways of the garden. "And speaking of acceptance, there will be no avoiding Amren and Alvor, now," He said and noticed that his companion suddenly slowed her pace until she stopped. "Come now, Helga. We've been through this!"

"The disappointment, Gandalf-... I was supposed to take care of them, but I left them for my own selfish desire for revenge... And now, even that I have failed..." Helga said.

"Helga Skyrunner, if you say one more word about being a disappointment, I would turn you into a toad before you utter the next one! I have listened to all of your complaints of being a disappointment to Amren and Alvor, and I have had just about enough of it!" Gandalf scolded, and Helga's shoulders dropped. Gandalf sighed and offered his arm, and they both continued their walk. "I am sure they understand..." He said, gently this time.

"I don't think they will... They were just babes when they were under my care." She said and Gandalf just smiled as they entered what seems to be a sparring area.

"Why don't you explain it to them yourself?" He asked and Helga felt her hair stand as she turned her head to the direction of the sparring area. There, two males sat on a stone bench, both of them laughing about a joke the other one said as they drank from their own water skins. The one on the right, who seemed older, stopped laughing and tapped the other male's knee and pointed at their direction. The one on the left looked at them and stopped laughing, looking like he saw a ghost. Both of them stood up, the one on the left had his jaw open and the one on the right has his jaw clenched. The younger one dropped his water skin and ran to Helga.

"Ma!" He ran to Helga, enveloping his arms around her neck, almost tackling her to the ground, if not from her years of practice. Helga smiled, her eyes in tears as she carefully wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Amren," She breathed out as tears fell and let out a shaky sigh. She smiled and brushed her hand on his brown hair. "You've grown," She said, laughing happily and hearing Amren laugh, too, as he let go of Helga. She held his face in his hands and examined his face. "You've grown handsome, just like your father."

"Where were you?" A voice spoke and they both turned to see the older male from awhile ago standing there, his hands clenched as he stared at Helga. She gasped and smiled, walking towards him.

"Alvor-"

"Don't even think about it," Alvor said, taking a step back and stopping Helga in her tracks. "Answer me, Helga," He said. Hearing him call her that made Helga wince from the unfamiliarity. "Where **were** you?"

"Al, it doesn't matter," Amren stepped up to Helga's defense. "Ma's back now, that is what matters right now." He said and Alvor never took her eyes off of Helga.

"Stop defending her, Ren... She's not our mother; She's never been our mother." He said, walking back to the bench to collect his weapons and belongings before storming out of the sparring area. Helga stood there, looking after the elder brother only to be held by the younger one. She looked at him and the aching pain in her chest was relieved for a while.

"Come now, ma. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Little did they knew that a pair of icy blue eyes were watching them.

* * *

I know this is out of topic, but I am just sooooo happy and I can't contain it, but I am now the new president of our school's student council :P The things I could do with that power, mwahahahaha! XD Just kidding! Anywaaaaaays, back to the fanfiction! OoO Who are these two boys?! Anyways, hoped you liked this chapter. I know its not much, but in the next chapter, more Thorin and Helga and you'll see why that Alvor was being such a b*tch to Helga. Anyways, thanks for the previous review, Bleeding Blue Kunochi, and to those who helped with the increase of numbers in the favorite and follows! One moment, it was around just 14 and now, it's around 33! Anyways, I hope you guys will leave more reviews, follows, or favorites ^_^!

~Gabrielle


	10. Chapter 10

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Hey, guys! I know that I don't usually put author's notes before the chapter, but this one is really important. There was a typo in the previous chapter where Thorin called Helga an elf and I just want to clarify that she is 100% Dragon Rider! No elf blood! This is my fault because, as I said, this is a re-write, and in the previous version, Helga was an elf. Also, I had the previous chapter made in advance during that time and I forgot to change it... Sarreh... Anyways, I suggest you guys read the previous chapter again before proceeding with this one :)

* * *

"Stop defending her, Ren... She's not our mother; She's never been our mother." The man, who was named Alvor, walked away from them. The younger one called Ren called Helga _ma_... Mother... She was a mother?

 _What secrets have you been keeping from us?_ He thought. He watched as the youngest one lead Helga in the direction where he and Gandalf came from. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he had to admit that being here gave him a sense of calmness. He had to take his mind off of things; the quest, being in elvish territory, and most of all, Helga's biggest secret. But it seemed that being a dragon rider -that tribe of wildlings near their mountain, wasn't the only secret that she kept. Thorin analyzed the face of the younger one, the one called Ren, and tried to compare his face to Helga's. He didn't find any trace of Helga in him at all... Well, except for the thin lips, but that was about it. It did not make sense how this boy had brown hair, and how she has blonde. But then again, it must be from the father. He remembered that Helga **did** have an intended before Smaug's attack.

That will mean that the both of them...

"Before the wedding?" He muttered to himself. Her tribe was indeed wild, just as the stories about dragon riders said. They live with beasts, so they must act like them. He has no idea why the news of her sons startled him more than he was supposed to as the leader of the Company, but the only thing he's sure of is why Helga wanted to avoid Rivendell as much as possible, and that was her sons.

But why was she afraid of facing them?

So many questions in his mind about this woman. Who exactly was she?

* * *

"So what happened when I was gone?" She asked Amren as they walked along the gardens, arm hooked around his elbow and his hand placed on top of hers.

"Well, Alvor is coping well. He's a soldier here in Rivendell," He said, explaining. "He's one of the best and there are rumors that he'll be captain soon. Although, he'll be on guard duty tonight."

"And I expect that he takes this job seriously?" Helga asked and Amren nodded.

"Indeed. He stands still like a stick when he's on guard duty. You'd think he fell asleep standing." Amren said, laughing. Helga, too, allowed herself to laugh.

"Well, h-how about you," She timidly asked. "How are you?" She asked him, and Amren smiled.

"The Head Healer offered me to study by him as an apprentice, although I haven't said yes, yet. I don't know if I should." He said, his voice becoming low and they came into an abrupt stop. Helga looked at Amren and smiled widely.

"Clearly, you must be joking! You should definitely say yes!" She exclaimed, and Amren smiled.

"Really?" He asked.

"Of course! Do you know that your uncle Hosue was the head healer of our tribe?" She asked and Amren smiled.

"You might have mentioned that." He said, smiling.

"It runs in the family, trust me." She said as she continued to walk.

"Then what happened to you when you were my age?" Amren asked and Helga gave him a wide grin.

"I did absolutely nothing when I was your age!" She exclaimed as they both headed for the balcony that overviewed the waterfalls.

"Really? I find that hard to believe." He said and Helga just shook her head.

"Then tell me, my dear, what exactly do you think did I do when I was your age?" She asked him, her big smile dropping when she saw that his shoulders had slumped and his mood had turned melancholic.

"Travel." He simply said, and Helga felt as if a ton of bricks were dropped on her chest. She sighed and took Amren's cheek in her hand.

"Oh, Amren," She said, then held his hands in hers. "I cannot explain how much I wanted to undo what I did; how I wished that I never left you." She said, starting to cry.

"You need not to ask forgiveness, Mama. I understand. I understand why you left and why you are going to leave again in a matter of days," He said, holding both of her hands in his as they sat down. "And all I ask is that you kill that dragon as soon as possible so you may return to us." He said, and she looked up at him and nodded, making her oath. She wrapped her arms around him and cried, not knowing how he could still call her a mother to them, even after she had left them, and even though they weren't hers. As they parted, they sat there in silence, calming their emotions.

"Although I do not know how to get there." She told Amren, and his brows furrowed.

"What? I thought you were travelling a Company of dwarves? An odd choice of Company if I must say, Mama." Amren said, and Helga gave him a tight smile.

"I'm afraid that they are not fond of Dragon Riders, Amren." She simply stated, and she felt the grip on his hand tightened.

"What? Why? Don't you have the same cause as them? To kill a dragon?!" He exclaimed.

"Well, they do not have good experiences with dragons. Their home was invaded by Smaug, too. They think -or at least their leader, Thorin, thinks that we had something to do with the attack." She explained and sighed.

"How long have you been with them?" He asked and Helga shrugged, her shoulders slumping as if deflated.

"Oh, a good few months, I suppose." She said, and Amren's face grew serious.

"Have they been treating you well?" He asked, and Helga smiled.

"Why are you acting like a mother hen, all of the sudden?" She asked and Amren shrugged.

"Well, you may not be there to tell me, but Lord Elrond told me everything," He said and he smiled at her. "And after all that you've been through, I don't want anyone treating you wrong." He said, and Helga smiled at him.

"If only your brother thinks the same as you do." She said, but they both knew that it was hopeless. From what Helga saw awhile ago, Alvor grew up from anger towards her. After a long silence, Amren spoke up.

"Why don't you march into Erebor by yourself? You've travelled the whole middle Earth... Thrice, probably at this point. A march to Erebor will mean nothing to you!" He said and Helga laughed.

"I'm not **that** old." She said, although mirth in her eyes from the idea that Amren had given her.

"Come on... You're twice my age."

* * *

That night, as the Company gathered around the fire that they have built from the furniture -there was enough for the three nights that they were going to stay, the Company sat in silence, not knowing how to take the news of Helga's race. Kili and Fili, obviously, took it well, as they were looking for her at this moment as the Company ate in silence.

"Where's Helga?" Fili asked and Thorin didn't look at them, his face indifferent as he answered.

"Helga would no longer be joining the Company. We will strip her contract, and she will remain here in Rivendell with her sons." He said, and there was a murmur among the Company.

"She said that herself?" Kili, who had been pretty close with her these past days, asked, looking as if he was a kicked puppy.

"No, she didn't. But I am kicking her out of this Company. She is no longer welcome to join us to Erebor." He said and tried to avoid the glare that his youngest nephew was giving to him.

"So what if she's a dragon rider? She said that she has been the last of her race, hasn't she?" Kili said.

"Well, she has her sons, and we do not know if she is lying or not," He said, looking pointedly at Kili. "She lied about her race, she lied about her family, who knows what else she is hiding," He said, looking at his plate and finding that he didn't feel like eating anymore. "And besides, if she is a Dragon Rider, you have no idea what kind of race they are. They are vicious as those beasts they control; they are nothing but a bunch of wild men in the north." Thorin said, and looked up when Balin noisily stood up, looking at him with disappointment and anger.

"No, Thorin... It is you who do not know anything about them." Balin said, before walking away, knowing that if he didn't, not only Helga will be kicked out of the Company.

* * *

Thorin followed Balin and saw that Balin was sitting on a stone bench by a balcony, looking at his right arm as if he were looking at an old picture. He walked up behind Balin and saw that he was looking at a faded tattoo of a dragon.

"I may be old and sentimental, Thorin, but do not forget that I have seen more things in this world," He said, and Thorin sat down beside Balin, ready to listen to what he was going to say. "I was just Kili's age when I met them; the dragon riders. The dwarven merchants from the Grey Mountains, of course, rarely saw them, for they only used dragons for labor, and not for war. The dragon riders would only set out to fly in the night, and never during daylight. As you might know, I loved travelling when I was young. So, while I was travelling from the Blue Mountains and on my way back to Erebor, I thought to take the route around Greenwood, near the Grey Mountains. While I was near the river, I heard the screams of a woman, and the wail of some sort of creature. And I saw, that it was a woman and a dragon, black as night, who was shouting for help. So, I first helped the woman, and then together, we helped the dragon." He said, but Thorin interrupted, utterly confused.

"Wait, how could you carry a dragon?" He asked, a smirk in his mouth and his brow raised.

"I was a very strong lad then back in the day, Thorin Oakenshield! Just because I am old now, doesn't mean that I have always been old," He scolded. "Their dragons were also smaller than Smaug; they were the size of four horses," Balin explained. "The woman's name was Annie, and she said that she was the chieftan of the tribe. So she brought me back to the tribe and they branded me as blood-kin. They brand that to outsiders who have done honorable or worthy deeds for the good of the tribe. And I spent three whole years in that tribe, and I learned so much about them," He said, smiling from the fond memory. "They showed me how dragons are gentle and loving creatures, how they form a spiritual bond with their rider and that bond is so deep that if one of them dies, the other would feel like they are dying, too. They would feel the same pain that they would feel, and when they die, it will feel like you have lost your other half, or at least that was what Annie explained to me." He said.

"It seems as if you and this Annie were close." Thorin mused.

"Oh yes. We were close enough for me to give her away on her wedding." He said and Thorin's brows shot up.

"The two of you were not-..."

"Mahal, no! By the time I met her, she already had her eyes on another," He said, and he sighed. They both sat in silence, the cool night breeze lazily dragging a few fallen leaves. "When Helga told me that they were all dead, I-... I just couldn't imagine it. Thinking about it is already as painful as it is- knowing that I would never get to touch a gentle dragon's scale, that I would never get to reunite with Annie again, or to fly at the back of a dragon... The things I could learn from them -all gone. All those knowledge only remains in one living dragon rider, and she is here in Rivendell. If that is what I feel, and I have only been with them for 3 years, imagine what Helga feels, knowing that she grew up with them for thousands of years," Balin said, and Thorin fell silent, a small, dull ache in his chest as he thought about it. "Bring her back, Thorin. This revenge for Smaug, it is all that she has lived for for almost half of her life. You cannot take that away from her. Not if killing Smaug will be for her people; for her race." Balin said, as he stood up and patted Thorin's shoulder, before leaving the King Under the Mountain to mull over his next move.

What he didn't know was that the woman of his thoughts was slipping away from Rivendell, all packed and ready to march into Erebor and slay a dragon.

* * *

Sooooo... How is it? A reader said that they want more deets about Balin and Annie, Helga's grandmother in her father's side (yes, its kinda confusing. I don't have a name for the other grandmother, her mother or her father yet! A contest, perhaps ;) ). Anyways, this chapter provides only a summary to the whole summary (Maybe a prequel once Heart of Gold is over? ;) ) Anyways, please leave a review/follow/favorite! I really want to know how the story is because things are about to get real in the next few chapters :P

Stay tuned!

~Gabrielle


	11. Chapter 11

Thorin woke up the next day to the sound of twittering birds, splashing water, and the laughter of his Company. He shot up from his bedroll, and immediately looked around to see the other bedrolls empty. He looked beyond the balcony of where they were staying and was quite relieved when he saw them enjoying a bath in a fountain. He sighed and looked back to the room, counting the sleeping bags and only counting fourteen, and not fifteen. He knew that Gandalf was staying in his own room, and the hobbit stayed with them when they slept...

Helga...

His shoulders slumped as he was reminded about the blonde woman. Yesterday's events came back to him, and this time, he really did think about it. Maybe he did over-react a bit and maybe he should have let her explain. It was just because knowing that she had befriended those-... vile creatures, he could not even understand what they see in those creatures. They are destructive, and nothing close to gentle. Even though he thinks ill about her race, he could not help but feel guilty about it. She has saved his nephew before they arrived here in Rivendell, and he knows that he owes her a lot. He could not even think of what to say in case he sees her. In fact, he does not even know where to start looking! He looked down to his stomach when it started to grumble

Maybe he'd be able to think better with a full stomach.

Once Thorin had eaten, he went down to the gardens, where the hobbit was. Thorin found Bilbo sitting down on one of the stone benches and was swinging his legs while looking around, admiring the view with a smile on his lips. He was startled, though, when Thorin approached him.

"O-Oh, Thorin! You're awake!" Bilbo squeaked and Thorin nodded.

"Tell me, Master Baggins, have you seen Lady Helga anywhere?" Thorin asked and he saw Bilbo freeze.

"Helga? N-No, I'm afraid I haven't seen her around this morning. You can ask her sons, perhaps, or Gandalf?" He said and Thorin nodded his thanks and was about to turn when Bilbo squeaked again. "Are you going to strip her contract?"

"I do not know yet." Thorin replied, not turning around.

"Well, if you are going to, well I just think that you should go easy on her." Bilbo said, and this time, Thorin turned to face the Hobbit.

"Why so?" He asked.

"Has life not been hard on her already?" Bilbo asked in return, which caused Thorin to pause, before turning and walking away to search for the dragon rider. It was just his luck when he saw her sons Gandalf, and Lord Elrond talking together in a courtyard. The four of them turned when they heard the clank of his iron boots.

"I am sorry if I am interrupting something." Thorin said, before making a move to leave when Gandalf stopped him.

"Wait, Thorin! I think that as the leader of the Company, you have the right to know about this." Gandalf said, and Thorin walked towards the small group.

"Has something happened?" He asked, and the older son -the big bulk of shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes, spoke up.

"She's gone."

* * *

It took a few seconds for Thorin to realize that it was Helga that the older son -Alvor, he thinks, is his name, said.

"What? What do you mean gone?" Thorin exclaimed, and Alvor rolled his eyes.

"Gone! She's not here anymore! She ran off again in the middle of the night. The bitch couldn't take the guilt." Alvor muttered the last part to himself.

"Alvor!" Lord Elron warned, and he immediately stood straight, as a trained elven soldier would.

"Where has she gone?!" Thorin asked, and the one he knew was called Ren, had his eyes downcast.

"She mentioned something about going ahead, about not wasting time." He mumbled, and all eyes looked at Thorin. As if he was not guilty enough of his actions. They just had to rub his fault in his face, didn't they?

"But I would not worry. Helga has travelled the whole of Middle Earth... Thrice, I think." Gandalf said, offering comfort, which did nothing to ease Thorin's worry.

"But this is not a simple leisurely travel from one place to another, Gandalf! This-" Thorin suddenly remembered that he was in the presence of an elf , not to mention Lord Elrond. "I just sent her to her death." He simply said, before walking back to their quarters with nothing but the thought of how much he wanted to follow Helga.

Little did he know that that time would be soon.

* * *

Helga held her cloak and pulled on her hood, fighting through the strong wind and rain of the Misty Mountains. Helga rarely used this route, for obvious reasons, but time was wasting. She needed to get to Erebor as soon as possible, and this was the fastest way. Then, when she was feeling hopeless, she found an opening of a cave at the side. Immediately, she went in and settled down her pack. She removed her coat and hung it in front of the opening of the cave, to prevent the cool air from entering. She also removed her leather armor, in order to change her dripping blouse. Once she had managed to change, she looked over her pack and her eyes widened when she realized what was missing.

"Shit," She said, rummaging through her pack and was panicking that her sleeping bag was not there. "Shit!" She shouted, throwing her pack at the wall, out of frustration. She slumped on the floor and hugged her knees, feeling more lonely and tired than before

Maybe she really was getting old.

When she joined the Company, she felt something that she haven't felt in her years of lonely travels: friendship. At this point, she was used to tales told around the campfire, or brotherly bickering. Now, she has nothing; no warmth from the campfire, and no one to talk to. Now that she had a taste of what friendship feels like, she questions herself how she was able to survive those 1200 lonely years of travelling. She lied on the sand-like ground, not caring if it would stick to her wet skin. She closed her eyes and a tear slipped from her eye, feeling even more lonely than before.

But, all of these thoughts immediately vanished when he heard a hiss and a distant drumming, before she fell into a never-ending cavern.

* * *

 **:C Poor Helga! Okay, just a short chapter as a sneak peak on what's about to come ;) You guys know what to do! Review/Favorite/Follow!**

 **~Gabrielle**


	12. Chapter 12

Thorin and the Company walked the narrow pathway at the side of the mountains with small, careful steps, knowing that one wrong step will lead to your imminent death; just like what their hobbit had demonstrated just a while ago. If it not for Dwalin, they would be another member short.

And it they were not even halfway through the quest, yet.

"Watch out!" Dwalin exclaimed, and they looked up to see a massive boulder being thrown towards them. They ducked and the huge boulder shattered into pieces. You could imagine their surprise when they looked up to see another giant emerge from the opposite mountain.

"Well bless me, the legends are true. Giants; Stone Giants!" Bofur exclaimed, holding his hat on his head as he looked up in awe.

"Take cover! You'll fall!" Thorin shouted over the rage of the thunder. They all exclaimed when another stone giant emerged from behind the company, and hits the first stone giant on the head. The Company yelled as they held on to something or someone. Then, the ground beneath them started to shake, and they barely managed to stand up as more rocks continued to fall over their heads as the company was split into two.

"Ki!" Fili shouted in distress as he reached for the hand of his brother, the two of them got separated. Then, a third giant appears, throwing a boulder to the giant where the other half of the Company were on. It fell and Thorin watched in horror as he saw the giant hit the mountain, crushing half of the Company.

"No! No! Kili!" He shouted as he rushed to where they were . He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that they were all fine and their limbs were still intact.

"Where's Bilbo? Where's the Hobbit?!" Bofur asked, looking around, and Ori pointed at fingers gripping the edge of the cliff, his fingertips slipping. He and Bofur made a dive to reach for Bilbo, and caught him, only to find him slipping from his grasps again. Thorin swung from the edge of the cliff and lifted Bilbo to safety, almost

"I thought we'd lost our burglar." Dwalin said, and Thorin sent Bilbo a glare."

"He's been lost, ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us." He said, turning to look for cave openings.

"Is there no shelter to this never-ending storm?!" Bofur exclaimed, dramatically banging his head on the stone wall, only to find that it wasn't actually a stone wall, but a large piece of cloth covering the opening. That move, of course, had him falling face first inside a cave.

"What?!" Thorin exclaimed. He held the cloth and was confused about it being there as the Company entered the cave.

"Thorin!" He heard Dwalin exclaim from the inside of the cave, and saw that the Company was gathered around a part of the cave. He went inside, and made through the Company to find a familiar travelling pack, armor, and sword.

"Helga," He muttered, kneeling to take her belongings in his hands... Why is it left here? "She must have been here." Thorin brilliantly deduced.

"Thorin, look," He heard Balin say. He turned to see the old dwarf holding the cloth, which was actually a cloak, that was hung on the opening of the cave. "It's Helga's."

"Search the place! Take that coat off! Look for traces of Helga. Bofur, you take first watch." Thorin ordered, and everybody set to look for more clues as to where the brow eyed dragon rider went. But alas, by the time the Company had settled down to rest, they found nothing.

Thorin, who stayed awake, was lying on his side, Helga's belongings on his side and her cloak on his hand. He sighed and thought about the owner of this cloak, and how she might be hurt or in danger because of his harsh words that drove her away. But they had been travelling for almost two days, now, and she should be past the Misty Mountains right now... Probably near Carrock already, and this is what worried him.

"Where do you think you're going?" He heard Bofur ask.

"Back to Rivendell." The voice of the Hobbit replied.

"No, no, you can't turn back now, you're part of the Company. You're one of us."

"I'm not though, am I? Even though she is not accepted, I am nothing like Helga. At least Thorin had a degree of a-affection or respect, or whatever he's feeling towards her. Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have run out my door." Bilbo said, and that got Thorin thinking for a while... Affection?

"You're homesick; I understand." Bofur reasoned, trying to comfort Thorin.

"No, you don't, you don't understand! None of you do - you're dwarves. You used to - to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere." Thorin knew without looking that Bofur was offended by this. Well, he was, too. Such harsh words from someone who knows nothing but being gentle.

"I am sorry, I didn't..."

"No, you're right. We don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do," Bofur said, cutting off Bilbo. Thorin could hear the light scuffle of feet and guessed that the Hobbit was about to leave. "What's that?" Bofur suddenly asked, and Thorin suddenly heard a weird hissing noise, coming from the sand that was slipping through the cracks forming on the floor.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

* * *

The next few moments were a flurry of falling, pushing, and images of mutilated, disgust creatures. He remembered falling and landing on the Company, but after that, a swarm of what he might guess as goblins closed in on them and started leading them. Suddenly, he heard this horrid, cracking, voice singing the most terrible song he has ever heard of. Something to do with snapping, cracking, and smashing deep in Goblin-town.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" The Goblin King inquired, and the goblin in front of the company stepped up.

"Dwarves, Your Malevolence." He said.

"Dwarves?!" Mahal, how Thorin wished he could be as deaf as Oin at the moment.

"We found them on the front porch." The goblin said.

"Well, don't just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice," The disgusting Goblin King exclaimed, his massive goiter flopping around as the goblins searched every member of the Company. "What are you doing in these parts? Speak!" However, both Oin and Bofur made feeble attempts to avoid Thorin from stepping up and telling the truth. What was meant as a way to stall made the Goblin King even irritated.

"SHUT UP! Well then, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the youngest." There were a round of cheers from the goblins and protests from the Company. However, Thorin could not handle it for too many are getting hurt on his account.

"Wait." He said, and the Great Goblin King smirked.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror; King under the Mountain," He said, mocking a curtsey. "Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you nobody, really," He said, an evil glint in his eyes as if he remembered something. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg." Thorin looked up in disbelief.

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago." Thorin defended, not accepting the fact that Azog was breathing and alive.

"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" The Goblin King asked, laughing as he turned to the tiny goblin in a basket next to him

"Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prize." The Goblin King ordered, as the small creature write on a slate. Cackling, the small creature slid down the line where its basket was hanging on. Then, a goblin came up, holding the cloak of Helga.

"No! Give it back!" Thorin exclaimed, and a goblin just punched him in the stomach to shut him up.

"Sire, we found this among their things. It smells like that woman from two days ago." The goblin said, and the Goblin King took it, sniffed it, and grinned at the dwarves, who had a look of worry on their faces, having an idea on who the woman might be.

"Have you met my new pet? Stumbled upon our front porch, just as you did. Feisty little thing, she is. Bring her down!" He commanded, and the goblins pulled on a lever, some sort of mechanism that was lowering down a wooden cage.

The Company was not prepared for what they saw next.


	13. Chapter 13

The company looked up in horror to see Helga curled inside the cage that hung beside the Goblin king, a chain around her neck and her arms and legs with nothing to cover her womanly parts except for rags. She was so beaten up, that they barely recognize her face; she sported a black eye on her left eye, had a busted lip, and she had this cut on her right cheek that was probably infected already and was in need of stitches. She could barely stand or make an insult to the Goblin King. The Company let out shouts of curses and one of them spat on the ground.

"You sick bastards!" Thorin shouted, and the Goblin King laughed.

"Well, well, well... it seems that you are all well acquainted with each other," The Goblin King remarked, an evil glint in his eyes. "Bring her out." The gate of the cage was opened and one of the goblins pulled her by the chain, and she fell on her four knees on the floor beside The Goblin King. It was then, Thorin knew why she wasn't fighting back. He saw the long, angry, slashes at her back that, he knew, were caused by a whip. Obviously, she had lost a lot of blood and one sudden movement might just make the wounds even worse.

"Tell me, King Under the Mountain," The Goblin King spat. "Why are you travelling around with a Dragon Rider?" He asked, and Thorin just looked back and forth between the horrid creature on the throne, and Helga, who was kneeling and had her hands held by Goblins. She gave him a hard glare, and he immediately knew what that meant.

"What do you mean, Dragon Rider?" He asked, pretending not to know the very thing that drove her to this situation. The Goblin King, however, was not convinced.

"What do you mean, you do not know?! You must have seen the mark of a Dragon Rider!" He pointed at Helga's right forearm, where a tattoo of a dragon, similar to Balin's, was. So that was why she always wore a bandage on that arm. "Liar!" He shouted, and suddenly, the whip behind Helga was cracked, and its tip tore through her flesh. However, Helga only struggled and closed her eyes in pain, but did not scream or shout in pain. The Company closed their eyes, some of them, like Ori and Kili, covering their ears.

"I know exactly what you plan to do," The Goblin King sneered. "You plan to go back to that mountain and tame that beast holing in there. Well, I would rather die than see a beast like that in the hands of dwarves!" He exclaimed, and two other cracks of whips were heard. The last blow was pretty hard, and Helga let out a scream of agony, tears already falling from her closed eyes. "So why not just stop right here, right now, and be a hero?" Then, Thorin struggled through the barricade of goblins who held them there, while he watched a goblin point a jagged dagger under Helga's chin, ready to slit her throat at the command of her master.

"NO!" Thorin exclaimed, and Helga just looked at him. For the first time since she's been with the Company, he saw this look of fear in her face. She just breathed in and bowed her head.

"Any last words, Dragon Rider?" The Goblin King asked, but Helga just spat on his face, and he smirked.

"Kill her." But before the goblin could slide that jagged dagger on her throat, there was a bright flash of a white light, and all of the goblins the held the Company and Helga were thrown away. For a while, everything was silent and there were three figures standing from where the white light emitted. Then, when the light died down, the figures of Gandalf, Amren, and Alvor, swords ready.

"Take up arms. Fight... Fight!" Gandalf commanded. The first to move was Helga, who stopped her weak woman act and turned deadly. She grabbed the hand of the goblin holding the jagged dagger, and stabbed it repeatedly on its chest, its wail snapping everyone back to reality. She then tugged hard on her chains, which broke free from the wood of the cage. She wrapped it around across her torso, deciding that she'll think of a way to get it free from her neck later. As everybody looked for their weapons, Helga caught a sheathed sword that Amren tossed to her. She looked at it, and saw that it was her sword.

"Made a little stop before heading here." Amren said, slashing across the chest of a goblin.

"Well, couldn't you have been a bit earlier?! I almost lost my head, there!" She asked, beheading a goblin, too.

"You should be thankful that we even thought of coming with Gandalf, Helga." Alvor said, kicking a goblin and letting it fall to its death.

"Follow me! Quick! Run!" Gandalf said, and the Company ran and followed his lead, with Helga running ahead.

Oh, how she wanted to get out of this foresaken place already.

As the Company ran down the path that lead away from the throne room, they hacked and slashed their way through the waves of goblins approaching them.

"Quickly!" Gandalf shouted, as the goblins behind them grew in number. They ran through what looked like an obstacle course for Dragon Knight training in Helga's point of view. It was the part where they trained her for the instances of her dragon being lost or captured; they trained her to not be dependent on her dragon alone. Soon enough, they were crossing a bridge when the Goblin King breaks through frim underneath and faces the Company, who paused and held their guard up for the approaching goblins.

"You thought you could escape me?!" The Goblin King exclaimed as he swung his mace twice at Gandalf, who stumbled back. The Goblin King gave him a triumphant smirk.

"What are you going to do now, wizard?" Suddenly, Helga, with all her rage, ran and climbed swiftly at the Goblin King, who was to slow to catch her with his big, fat, hands. She sat on top of his shoulders, twirled her swords, and plunged it on top of his head, bit even a wince or a grimace as she twisted the sword with a sickening crunch.

"That'll do it, _putang ina_." She said, pulling her sword off and jumping off of the Goblin King. What Helga forgot to expect is that when the Goblin King fell face first on its face, the bridge startes collapsing from its weight and they all fell.

When Helga hit the ground, she prayed to the Valar that nothing would pierce through or break in her body. But, it was only a fool's hope, and she felt a searing pain in her thigh. She let out a scream of pain, surprising everybody especially when it grew louder as the Goblin King fell on top of them. Helga was already on a verge of passing out when she felt herself being dragged away. She opened her eyes, her eyelids already feeling heavy. She tried to stand up, having difficulty from the stick protruding from her thigh.

"Helga, can you walk?" Thorin asked, who was trying to support her along with Amren. Helga just gritted her teeth and hissed as she snapped the stick and threw it away.

"I'm fine, we have to run." She said, limping ahead of them. The others ran ahead of her, and all that was left supporting her was Amren. They looked behind and the Goblins we're closing in on them, before Helga tripped.

"Ma!" Amren exclaimed. Alvor, who was a few feet ahead, looked back.

"Amren, just go!" Helga said, pushing him towards his brother, however he stayed.

"No! Not without you!" Amren said, attempting to carry her, however, he wasn't strong enough.

"Amren, I am dead weight!" She exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "I have always been dead weight! To my family! To the Company! To you! Just leave me!" She said, finding it harder to stand up from the missing feeling in her thigh.

But what surprised her is when she felt a pair of arms scoop her up and carry her away. She looked up, and saw that it was not Amren carrying her, but Alvor.

* * *

 **Soooo... Alvor's still not talking that much, and Amren and Alvor to the rescue! Anyways, more character development about Helga and the brothers in the next chapters (along with Thorin/Helga as well :P ) so stay tuned :)**

 **Oh, and one final thing! I just want to ask about your opinion in the brothers. Like what do you think about them, so far? Do you like them? Is there something missing? What do you expect from them? Cuz they'll be playing a vital role in the story and I want to know if they're to your liking.**

 **Anyways, other than that, how do you find the new chapters? Please review/favorite/follow! Reviews are the fuel to my writing engine! XD**

 **~Gabrielle**


	14. Chapter 14

They were finally out of Goblin Town, and the Company ran downhill. They stopped to catch their breath when they were at a respectable distance, and Gandalf counted the members as they passed by.

"Five, six, seven, eight...Bifur, Bofur...that's ten...Fili, Kili...that's twelve...and Bombur - that makes thirteen," Then he looked around to notice someone missing... Make that several. "Where's Helga, Amren, and Alvor?!" He exclaimed, but noticed another one who was missing. "Where's Bilbo? Where's our hobbit?!"

"Curse the halfling! Now he's lost?!" Dwalin exclaimed. As the others argued where they last saw Bilbo, Amren, Alvor, and Helga emerged from the exit of Goblin Town, with Amren and Alvor supporting a limping Helga. They immediately sat her down a rock, and Amren immediately dropped his bag and searched through it.

"Hold her down." Amren said, his voice commanding and authorative, so different from what Helga heard back in Rivendell. Oin and Dwalin went to them, helping out. Dwalin held down Helga, along with Alvor, while Oin and Amren started preparing a small fire. Once there was a small fire, Oin placed a small dagger on it and left it there to heat. Amren then turned to look at Helga and held the stick that was pierced on Helga's thigh.

"On the count of three. One. Two." But on two, Amren pulled it out, causing Helga to scream out loud, a death grip on Dwalin's arm. But when Oin pressed the searing hot dagger on her wound, Helga writhed in pain and she tried her best to keep her mouth shut, knowing that if she screamed, it will attract unwanted attention.

"What happened, exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf asked the Company, and Thorin spoke up.

"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone." Thorin said. Helga, who was calming down already and was shakily wrapping her cauterized wound with a ripped part of Amren's shirt, would have retorted or defended the hobbit, but she found that she had little energy to even say anything.

"No, he isn't." A voice spoke, and they all whipped their heads to see Bilbo just standing near Helga.

"Bilbo Baggins," Gandalf said, laughing a bit. "I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" He exclaims as Bilbo walks towards the group, and to Balin, who was the first to greet him with a pat, which he returned.

"We'd given you up!" Kili exclaimed.

"How on earth did you get past the goblins?!" Fili asked, and the Company fell silent.

"How, indeed." Dwalin said, and even Helga, who had no idea of what happened, was interested to know how the gentle hobbit could have passed the mass of goblins chasing after them, if it was true that he was left behind. Bilbo just gives out a nervous laugh, which makes Helga think about having a little talk with their hobbit later.

"Well, what does it matter? He's back!" Gandalf said, trying to brush off the topic.

"It matters," Thorin said, walking towards them. "I want to know: why did you come back?"

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right," Bilbo said, looking at Thorin. "I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back, cause you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can." At the end of Bilbo's little speech, the whole Company was silent, and Thorin looked down. Even Gandalf smiles at this. However, Helga, who was sitting on a rock behind them, looked down. She knew that what Bilbo said was only for the dwarves, but something in what Bilbo said struck her inside and made her think. After this quest, once she's killed Smaug, what will she do? It's not like she could go back home; she doesn't have one. Not anymore. It wasn't a home that was taken and can be reclaimed, like Erebor. Hers was destroyed, along with its people, and she has nowhere to call home. She looked down, calming her breathing, when she heard a distant howl.

The emotional moment was cut off when they heard that howl, and the Company looked at each other, knowing that they were still in danger. Thorin looked at Gandalf with a knowing look and spoke.

"Out of the frying pan..."

"...and into the fire! Run! RUN!"

* * *

They continued running down the mountain and before they knew it, it started getting dark. Helga, who could manage herself without support, was limping towards where the Company was. They stopped when they saw that they were at the edge of a cliff, and when Helga turned, she saw a Warg leaping towards her, jaws open and ready to bite. She was lucky enough to drive her sword upwards, and kill the beast. Unfortunately, it fell limp on top of her and the Company thought the worst.

"Helga!" She heard Bilbo shout. She tried pushing the heavy beast off of her with a groan and with the help of the hobbit.

"What is it with you and my face?!" She said, spitting at the dead beast before ushering Bilbo to go ahead. The two of them rushed to where they last saw the Company and saw that they were not there. Helga looked around in panic, searching for the Company, for Thorin, for Amren and Alvor, but they weren't there. Suddenly, she felt something pull her up and she saw that it was Thorin who hoisted her up. She gave him a nod in thanks before clambering up towards the top of the trees. The wargs were suddenly surrounding the area at the foot of the pine trees, searching for them. However, they ceased and turned when a white warg with a pale orc appears and it approached slowly. Helga looked back and forth between Thorin and the pale orc, and remembered Balin's story. So he must be...

"Azog?" Thorin muttered in disbelief. Helga heard the orc say something in its foul language, but she did not bother, for she was focused on her leader, who showed emotions that she thought would never appear; pain and grief. "It cannot be." Suddenly, Azog gave out what seemed to be a command to attack, for the wargs charged on the trees, shaking it, climbing it, and breaking the branches that they could reach with their jaws. Then, the trees started to fall, and the Company could not do anything except to hold on. They all ended up jumping to the last tree; the one standing dangerously at the edge of the cliff. Helga found her balance first, before shouting to Amren.

"Ren! My bow!" She shouted from below, and her bow and quiver were dropped. She caught it and wore her quiver, leaning on the trunk for balance. She took an arrow from her quiver before shooting it to one of the wargs below, the arrow finding its way through its eye. Then, the dwarves above her started to throw burning pinecones to the wargs, and their furs caught fire, along with the dry grass. When they saw Azog's frustration, the Company let out a cheer of triumph, which soon turned into panicked cries when their tree started falling. Helga, with the wound on her thigh, lost balance and was one of the first to fall. Luckily, she held onto a thick branch. However, she knew that this would not last and that she would let go, soon. She looked to her right and saw young Ori hanging onto Dori's leg, and Dori hanging on to Gandalf's staff. Helga shuts her eyes, from the pain of the whiplashes on her back, from the strain of her muscles, she knew that she couldn't hold on for long. However, her eyes snapped open when she heard Dwalin shout

"Thorin! No!" Helga pushed herself up, and her eyes widened at the sight of Thorin being held between the jaws of a warg.

"No." Helga muttered, tears in her eyes. She took in a shaky breath and shutting her eyes, before opening it again, pushing herself up with all her might. And she found herself on the tree trunk, balancing herself as she pulled out her sword. Along with Bilbo, they charged at the orc who was about to decapitate his head. She let Bilbo take care of that orc, and she focused at the other orcs who tried to get near Thorin, stabbing them in the eye, or decapitating them, not caring if she's tearing at the wounds at her back.

She heard Azog command his wargs and riders, and she knew that they were after Bilbo. Well, she would die first before she lets Bilbo get harmed. But, it seemed that she was not the only one rushing to defend the hobbit, but the rest of the Company members as well. The battle was a flurry of steel, blood, and fire, and Helga never felt more alive. Then, she spotted Azog and his warg charging towards her, and she was backing up, when she tripped from a root. She scrambled backwards towards the edge of the cliff. Azog just smirked at her while his mace in hand.

"You should never have left your home, woman." He said, and Helga spat at his warg's face, before pulling out her sword, slashing its eye on the way before stabbing it from the top of its skull, just like what she did with the Goblin King earlier. This caused Azog to fall off balance and when he swung his mace at her with the intent to crush her skull, she did the only thing she could think of, and she jumped from the cliff.


	15. Chapter 15

As Helga fell from the cliff, she smiled at the feeling of the wind on her face, the fast beat of her heart from the uncertainty of the outcome of her fall. It was just like old times with her dragon, and how she missed him. They used to do this trick where she'd free fall along with her dragon, and he'll always be fast enough to catch him.

But this was different.

Helga knew that there will be no dragon to catch her, this time, and that she'll and up as a splatter of blood, innards, and bone shards on the ground. But what Helga did not expect was something catching her. She did not expect to land on something soft, and she felt herself being carried upwards. For once, she thought that this was her dragon incarnate, but no. Her dragon did not have soft... feathers? Helga opened her eyes, and saw that she was on top of, what appears to be, an eagle. She held on to it, and looked around to see a few more eagles soaring along with the one she was riding on, the Company, Amren, and Alvor on their backs. She looked ahead, and saw the rising sun, and Helga never felt like herself before. For a while, she forgot all of her troubles; she forgot about Alvor hating her, about Thorin kicking her out of the Company -not to mention that he was unconscious in the talons of an eagle, and how she had to kill a dragon. She closed her eyes again, taking in the feeling of the strong wind on her face -so strong, that she thought that she was deafer than Oin. She held onto the eagle, and slowly raised her hand, feeling the warm rays of the sun softly caressing her skin.

Helga felt so relaxed and so carefree that she did notice that the moment she closed her eyes, she found it hard to open them again, and felt herself detaching from consciousness.

* * *

To the Company, however, Helga did not lose consciousness in the peaceful way that it seemed. At first, they saw Helga raising her hand, before she slumped at the back of the eagle, falling off of it. Luckily, the eagle was fast enough to swoop down and catch her.

"Helga!" Kili shouted, reaching out and almost falling, however Amren, who was behind the young prince, caught him.

"She must have felt the weight of her wounds." He said, letting go of Kili once he felt that the young prince was balanced.

"But she will be alright... right?" Fili asked, who was with Kili. Amren sighed and looked down.

"I do not know... Healing for us is different," He said. "There is something about us, Dragon Riders, that gives us the ability to live longer, to heal faster. However, fast healing for us has a consequence." Amren explained.

"What will happen to her?" Kili asked.

"It is best that we talk about it once we've landed. The others, especially your healer, needs to know about this. For now, the best that we could do is pray that she and your leader can make it through." He said, head down as they approached Carrock. Amren would have been at awe at the bear-shaped rock formation, if Helga was not dying at the moment. The eagles gently placed Thorin down on top of Carrock, while the Company hurriedly went to check on their king. Gandalf was the first to run to Thorin to check on him.

"Thorin!" Gandalf exclaimed, however Thorin was not responding. Soon enough, the whole Company was watching while Gandalf places his hand on Thorin's face and whispers a faint spell. Thorin's eyes suddenly fluttered opened as he gasps for air.

"The Halfling?" He said, his voice weak and ragged.

"It's all right. Bilbo is here. He's quiet safe." Gandalf said, as Dwalin and Kili helped Thorin stand up. He shrugged them off as soon as he got up and he marched towards Bilbo.

"You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed!" Thorin exclaimed as Bilbo shrunk. "Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?" At this point, Bilbo looks frightened and hurt from what Thorin had said, but became confused at what took place next. "I've never been so wrong in all my life!" Then, Thorin embraced Bilbo as he smiled. The rest of the Company cheered at this, and a rather surprised Bilbo hugged Thorin back. Thorin pulled away from the hug and squeezed Bilbo's shoulder.

"I am sorry I doubted you." He said, and Bilbo just laughed.

"No, I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero or a warrior...not even a burglar," He joked, and everybody laughed. However, Bilbo looked behind Thorin and he walked past him. The others follow the Hobbit's gaze and fell silent at what it was. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Erebor—The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle-earth." Gandalf said, as he looked into the distance at the solitary peak.

"Our home." Thorin said, a smile in his face. Then, a bird flies past them and cheeps.

"A raven!" Oin exclaimed. "The birds are returning to the mountain." He said happily as the bird chirps even more.

"That, my dear Oin, is a thrush." Gandalf corrected. However, before any of them could say that it was a good omen, they were reminded that there were three other members who they have quite forgotten in this short moment of joy.

"Gandalf!" They heard someone exclaim from behind. Gandalf was the first to approach, and sighed heavily as he saw Amren and Alvor -who was wrapping a bandage around his forearm, with an unconscious Helga lying down. "It's starting! She's burning up!" Amren said, touching her forehead. Gandalf bent down and touched her forehead, only to retract his hand from the intense heat coming from her forehead.

"We have to get her down, find water," Gandalf said, nodding at Amren. He looked at Alvor and sighed. "Will you be able to carry Helga down?" He asked, and Alvor just sighed in annoyance.

"It's not like I have any choice, do I?" Alvor asked, and lifted Helga, bringing her down along with Amren behind him. Thorin, who was concerned about the woman in their Company, went to Gandalf.

"What is happening to her? Is she dying?!" Thorin asked in a hurry. He spent his time hoping he could find her and get to apologize, only to find her severely wounded, and the next time he does have a chance to talk to her, she might be dying at the very moment.

"She might be, yet she might not." Gandalf said, and Thorin was getting annoyed.

"I deserve answers, Gandalf." Thorin growled and Gandalf huffed.

"It would be better if we get down from this rock, first. Then, I will be giving answers."

* * *

"Now, speak." Thorin said, as soon as his feet touched the soil on the ground. Gandalf sat on a small rock first with a groan, before he started explaining.

"Well, healing for the Dragon Riders is different from us," Gandalf said, as the Company settled down and listened to what Gandalf had to say. "They have the blessing of their god, Bathala, a dragon god. He thought that immortality was a cruel punishment, so instead, he gave the dragon riders the gift of slow aging, and fast healing, so that they may still enjoy a long life, but not live long enough to be bored with it. However, there was a consequence he did not expect. He did not expect that when Dragon Riders would heal, they would have an intense fever -a fever so hot that you can get an actual burn from it. So, the worse the wound is, the worse the fever is. The only solution is to constantly keep her at a cool temperature to fend off the fever, which will only last for a day. However, if not treated right, they will die," Gandalf explained, which left the Company silent. Amren then emerged from the trees, where the river was, and sighed. The Company looked at him, their guard ready from the not-so-unfamiliar face. "It's alright, his name is Amren, and he is with me." Gandalf said, and the Company placed their weapons down.

"She is soaked in the river and still unconscious, for now. She needs to be checked now and then. She needs to be given water every ten minutes and at least something to fill her stomach," He explained, while Alvor emerged from the trees, too. "I may have not had the time to introduce myself. My name is Amren, and this here is my brother, Alvor. We are what's left of Helga's family." Amren said, while Alvor just rolled his eyes. He then caught the dark glare of Thorin from across and just glared in return.

"We will set camp here tonight, until Helga is healed," Thorin told the Company. "Oin, Gloin, get a fire going. The rest of you, search for food around the area." He commanded, and everybody were off to do their job. He looked at Amren, who sat down on a rock with his hands in his hair, tugging at the single, thin braid at the back of his head. Thorin was about to ask Amren more details about Helga's condition, when the young boy exclaimed.

"Oh, Bathala, I am so sorry. It's all my fault!" He said, looking utterly devastated.

"Why are you blaming yourself over her obvious mistake?!" Alvor scolded his younger brother, causing everyone to stop and look at the brothers. "She thought it would be best to just march off in the middle of the night to kill that damn dragon she's been chasing after for 1200 years! When will you ever learn, Amren, that she doesn't care for us?! That she left us alone with no one to guide us?!" He said, and Amren looked up, anger in his eyes.

" But she had to, Al! She had to do it for herself, don't you understand?!" Amren defended.

"No! I don't understand how this woman can leave two children in the middle of the night -children that she was supposed to take care of, by the way, just to kill a damned dragon for revenge!" Alvor said, his fists clenched.

"We are not children anymore, Alvor!" Amren shouted, standing up. "Stop being so fucking thick-headed and just accept the fact that she's back and what she did, she did so she can move on from what happened to her! She lost her whole family in a day!"

"Well, she didn't lose us! She didn't have to lose us, too, by leaving us!" Alvor roared, his face dangerously close to Amren's. Thorin saw the look on Alvor's face, and it was the look of being prepared for a fight.

"Stop it, the both of you!" Thorin exclaimed, walking towards the brothers.

"Stay out of this!" Alvor said, slightly pushing Thorin away, who was on the brink of punching the brat himself. " This is only between the three of us!"

" No, I will not! Not while you speak to your mother, who might be dying at this very moment, in that manner!" Thorin said, and Alvor's face went from angry to confused.

" She's not our mother," Alvor said, still slightly angry. "She's never been our mother." Thorin looked at the elder brother in disbelief. Some role model he was! The younger one had more sense in him!

"How could you say that? How could you talk about her like that after all of the things she's been through?! After she brought you in this world?" Thorin said, resisting the urge to punch Alvor.

" What are you talking about? Helga didn't give birth to us." Alvor explained, already getting annoyed by Thorin, who became utterly confused.

" W-What...?" Amren, who already calmed down, walked to Thorin.

"Helga's not our mother," Amren said, "Because she's our aunt. Our real mother handed us to Helga when she was pinned down by a burning log." Amren explained. The whole Company was quiet, and everything happened so fast that the Company did not notice how Thorin punched Alvor square in the face, and only saw the elder brother being pinned down by the dwarf king, receiving multiple blows on his face, enough to knock the living daylight out of him.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! So first of all, thank you so much for your reviews! Even if it is few, i dint care, its still reviews XD And I wont even start with the follows! Thanks, guys! SO, how are the events so far, good, bad?**

 **~Gabrielle**


	16. Chapter 16

It all happened so fast in the eyes of the Company. One minute, Amren was explaining how Helga was not their real mother, and then suddenly, Thorin was able to knock a half conscious Alvor down, strangling the poor boy. It was a good thing that Dwalin was quick to act and that he pulled Thorin away from the boy, who was already sporting a bleeding nose. Amren, however, tried to hold his brother back from going after the dwarf king.

"Let me at 'im!" Alvor said, sitting up and his nose getting clogged with blood.

"How dare you?! After all of the trouble that Helga has spent to save you? Travelling all the way from the north to Rivendell just to save you and your brother and for what?! You treat her like that!" Thorin shouted, as he stopped struggling against Dwalin.

"Well, why did she save us when she was going to leave us and never return? She should have left us with our mother to burn!" Alvor exclaimed.

"Well, maybe she should have, saving herself the trouble of handling a brat like you!" Thorin spat, which lead Alvor to struggle against Amren again. Gandalf sighed, and walked between the two arguing males.

"ENOUGH, THE BOTH OF YOU!" Gandalf boomed, which caused everything, including the twittering of the birds, to be quiet. "We have just outrun a pack of orcs who are after Thorin's head who, mind you, should be dead at the moment, if not for me! One of our Company members lies on a river, wounded and possibly dying! Can we not have a moment's peace to recollect our thoughts and to stop ourselves from acting like animals?!" Gandalf scolded, the two looking away from the wizard. The both of them were silent and the wizard huffed and nodded before turning away. "Good."

"Let's go back, Amren." Alvor said, picking up his pack and turning to face the direction of Rivendell.

"Are you mad?! You'll meet the orc pack on the way back, get yourself killed!" Amren said, annoyed at his brother's lack of wit. Alvor just sighed and dropped his pack, marching off to the opposite direction.

* * *

It was scorching hot where Helga was. She can feel the flames of Smaug burning the forsest, her village, the dragons... her people. As soon as Helga saw Smaug head for the direction of the forest, she immediately knew what was going to happen. Even though she detested it, she ran into the forest. She ran, and ran, until she heard Smaug's screech, followed by the screams of her people.

She never ran so fast in her life.

She knew they might be dead, but she's not missing the chance -that small glimmer of hope, that they might have been left behind or escaped, somehow. But then, she passed by a burning body, and she dropped on her knees as she saw the sword. With shaking hands, she held it, and looked at the burning corpse. She shut her eyes and heaved out all of her stomach's contents. In her fours, her whole body shook; her hands clenched, the tears falling from her eyes. At that moment, Helga just wanted to die. It was Hosue's sword. It was passed on to him by their grandfather, even though she was the one becoming a warrior and he the healer. She was brought out of her misery when she heard children crying.

"Mama!" The voices were somewhere ahead, and she recognized those voices. Standing up, with sword in hand, she ran to their direction.

"AMREN! ALVOR!" She shouted, running and dodging the burning trunks.

"Aunt Helga!" She heard them shouting. She was getting closer, until she saw two small figures, kneeling over a burning log.

"Amren! Alvor!" She shouted, sprinting towards them. Her nephews turned to look at her with tears streaming down their faces.

"Aunt Helga, help!" They exclaimed. Once Helga saw the scene before her, she felt herself shaking once again. Astrid, their mother, was lying on the ground, pinned under a burning tree and half alive. Helga knelt down and took Astrid's hand in hers.

"Y-You have to... get out..." Astrid mumbled, and Helga cried. "Keep 'em safe...I can't-..." Her voice faded into a whisper. Then her hand went limp in Helga's hand and a crash from behind brought her out of her grief and turned her heart into steel. She wiped her tears and carried her two nephews, running towards the direction where she came from. She ignored the heat of the fire, the cries of her nephews for their mother, and Smaug's screeches. At the moment, her dragon and her nephews were all that she has, and she wouldn't let anything, not even Morgoth himself, take them away from her. Once she was out of the forest, she saw Scar, her dragon, waiting for her. Immediately, she sat and buckled her nephews on Scar's saddle, before riding on it and taking off.

"We have to go back! We can't leave ma!" Amren exclaimed, who was trying to unbuckle his seatbelt, but Helga beat her to it. She squeezed that pressure point between the neck and the shoulder, knocking him out. She did the same to Alvor, who was caught by surprise. She wrapped her arms around her two nephews, wiping her tears on her shoulder sleeve. She had an idea where to go now, and she just prayed that she caught the Elvenking in one of his good days...

But then everything started to feel cold, for Helga. Despite the fact that she just came from a burning forest, it felt as if... She was taking a dip in a river during the night.

* * *

Helga's eyelids snapped open and she gasped, her hands and legs flailing around as she felt herself sinking. She was screaming underwater as she fell from her make-shift floating cot, and she reached out towards nothing, except for the moon. In all of her 2000 years, she never expected to die like this; suffocating, sinking... in goddamn water! Then, she felt someone pull at her hand, and she surfaced, coughing and wheezing out water as she can crawl towards the side of the river.

" _'Tangina..._ " She muttered, heaving out the remaining water from her lungs. She looked up to see who exactly was the one who pulled her out of the creek, and saw that it was Thorin. Helga rolled to her back and leaned on her elbows, letting out a sigh. _This was a close call, Helga... Close call._

"2000 years in this world, and you never knew how to swim, Dragon Rider?" Thorin said, smirking and raising an eyebrow, with the thought of making things light between them. Unfortunately, the last that they have spoken to each other, he had spurned her and did not hide the fact that he despised her race. She huffed and stood up, throwing the first thing that her fists had touched, which was a handful of soil. She stomped off, leaving the King Under the Mountain baffled. "Excuse me?"

"Excuse you?! Well, excuse me, your Majesty," She said, mocking a bow while looking around for any sign of her things. "But since I am no longer part of this Company, I shall be leaving -with my belongings, and grace you with the absence of my being! Good evening!" She said, stomping away from him, but he ran to her and held her arm.

"Wait, Helga."

"What?!" She huffed, stopping, but not turning to look at her.

"You saved my life." He said, smiling at this impossible woman.

"Yes, I did, although you should thank the Hobbit more." She said, shrugging off his hand.

"But you saved it, nonetheless." He said, and Helga turned, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I thought we have already established that? Now where is my sword?" She asked, looking around, the worst in mind. She took him by the collar and pulled him. "Where is-..." She stopped and closed her eyes before calming herself down. Slowly, she let go of him and let out a sigh. "Where is my sword?" She calmly asked.

"Your belongings are with your nephews at the moment. We stopped camp here, at the bottom of Carrock, and we take shifts watching over you-"

"What?!" She asked, her eyes becoming wide.

"I-I mean, in your unconscious state! You can't protect yourself, so we take shifts to guard you." Thorin said, flustered and pink creeping up his neck. She smirked and looked down. But when a breeze swept through them, she suddenly felt cold, with her damp clothes and all. Thorin saw her shiver and he took off his fur coat and held it out to her. She looked up and stared at him with wide eyes.

"N-No, I-"

"Take it. Stay here first, you might strain your wounds. I will inform the others that you are awake." Thorin said, and Helga took the coat, wrapping it around herself. As Thorin turned to leave, she felt several tears on his cloak, which were from the teeth of the warg that caught him.

"Thorin," She called out. For what reason, she did not know. He turned, and she saw the tears on his doublet, too, with bloodstains on it. She suddenly felt guilty and selfish for leaving like that. If it weren't for her leaving, she would never had been caught like that, and she wouldn't have been too weak to protect him. Well, they would never had been in this predicament if it weren't for Smaug. "I am sorry."

"What for?" He asked.

"For Smaug destroying your home. I tried my best to stop him, to warn my people, but-... I failed." She said, looking down. Thorin knew that this was the part where he should apologize to her for saying what he said back in Rivendell. However, he found that her could not bring himself to say those words.

"You are welcome back to the Company, if you choose to." He says, nodding, before turning to the direction of the camp.

Later, Amren and Oin came to check on her -well, mostly Amren. Oin was just there to learn and wonder in awe as he saw that Helga's wounds from the whip were just thin, shallow slashes on her back and weren't as bad as before. They handed her clothes that they brought and they brought her back to camp, which she was met with loud cheers and careful hugs from Fili and Kili. She was taken aback by the warm welcome of the Company, but then she never really knew what the others thought about her being a Dragon Rider. But from the look of their faces, they didn't care that she was a Dragon Rider and they were just happy that she was back... And so was she.

* * *

 **I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! XD**

 **I am really sorry for the long wait, but there has been recent problems with the internet here at home. Anyways, for good news, school is ovaaaaah! Its summer and during the past week, I have already planned how this story is going to go and I have already written the last chapter of this story (too early to guess, but a special sneak peak at one of the ending chapters for those who can guess right) and I have been planning for a possible sequel ;)**

 **Also, if anyone is interested in songs, there's this one song that kinda reminds me of Helga. Its called 'Something Better' by The Ransom Collective. Their other songs are pretty good, too, but this one's the best! I was soooo in love with it for a week!**

 **Aaaaand how could I forget those who left reviews! Thanks so much! One review is means so much to me already!**

 **Anyways, that's all for now, and tell me what you think about this chapter! Was Thorin a bit OOC (forgive me. First timer XD)? Do you want more of Helga/Thorin moments (can't think of a ship name :/)?**

 **~Gabrielle**


	17. Chapter 17

The Company started to move forward, the next day, although they were a bit slow. They stopped by a clearing in a forest and Helga, who was feeling better than before, joined the hunting along with Kili.

"I'm a bit rusty, after being holed up in that cage... And sleeping for a day!" She exclaimed.

Later on, while a few minutes after they set their camp, Helga and Kili came back, a tired look on their faces.

"Any luck?" Thorin asked and the both of them sighed.

"No rabbits." Kili said.

"Nor squirrels." Helga continued.

"But we found this." They dragged what seems to be a deer in front of him. The whole company cheered, especially Bombur, who ran to Helga and hugged her. The two of them started skinning the deer, while Gandalf, Thorin, and Balin talked about their quest.

"Where did you learn how to skin animals?" Bombur asked Helga, and she just shrugged.

"You pick up a thing or two on the road," She said, but then smiled. "And I used to watch my grandfather skin animals. Then, my mother would make the best meat pie in the whole of Arda out of it. Too bad that a troll is even better at cooking than me. I can't make it as good as what my mother did." She said, sitting on her heels.

"Do you remember the recipe? I might make one for you once we're back home." Bombur said, and Helga smiled. _Once **he's** back home_. She thought. But she would not ruin the mood. Eru knows how much they need a break from all the running and fear.

"That would be nice, Bombur. Thank you." She said, smiling at the dwarf who just smiled and nodded at her before turning back to the skinned deer.

"This would be better with some herbs." Bombur sighed, and Helga shrugged.

"I can help you find some. What do you need?" Helga offered, and the rotund dwarf smiled.

"Anything you could find would do." He said, before he turned back to work on removing the deer's innards. Helga nodded before turning to look for the hobbit. In truth, she doesn't know a single thing about herbs or cooking. As mentioned before, she was bad at cooking and bad at treating wounds or illnesses because almost every green thing looks the same to her. The only difference that she could tell was if it was dried or not. Bilbo, however, she thinks that he could help, with Hobbits and their gardens and what not.

"Bilbo," She said, approaching the hobbit who seemed to be learning how to carve a wooden figure from Bifur. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need your help." She said and Bilbo excused himself from Bifur.

"Well, what do you need?" He asked.

"I need you to help me find herbs for Bombur." She said, and the hobbit looked at her. She could read it in his face: unbelievable.

"Why couldn't you do it yourself?" He asked, and Helga dragged him away from the Company.

"Well, let's just say that the world is surrounded by a lot of little green plants and they are too many for my liking," She said, and Bilbo smiled. She's 2000 years old and had managed to escape a fire-breathing dragon, and she doesn't know the differences between plants? "And its not like I ever needed herbs for cooking on the road. You just kill them, skin them, and cook them." She shrugged.

Bilbo huffed in amusement as he looked up at the dragon rider.

"Alright. But you're holding the torch, and you're not touching anything. For all we know, you might be bringing back a poison ivy." He muttered as Helga smiled and started to prepare a torch.

"Well let's see... Herbs are hard to find in forests, because they're quite sensitive," Bilbo said as they walked through the shrubs and tall grasses. "But, I do remember my grandmother telling me that there are a variety of bayleaves in forests." He mumbled, looking around.

* * *

"Alright... even though I don't know what it looks like. But we won't go that far. Just where we could still see the campfire." She said, following the hobbit while constantly looking behind her to see if she could still see the camp.

"Helga, can I ask you something?" Bilbo asked, and Helga just hummed. Not knowing if it's a yes or no, he still went on. "If you're a dragon rider, where's your dragon?" He asked, and he suddenly heard Helga's footsteps stop. He turned to see Helga staring blankly, holding the torch tightly. "Helga?"

She was shook from her stupor and she looked at him before she continued walking.

"It's not a pretty story," She said, before Bilbo followed her. They walked in silence and she Helga had her head down, as if in deep thought. Suddenly, she spoke up. "After Smaug's attack, I went to the nearest ally there was; Thranduil, the Elvenking. He let us in, and gave us food, water, shelter... What I didn't know was that his view about dragosn has changed, since he has seen Smaug's attack on Erebor. One day, he called for me and he was forcing me to turn my dragon, Scar, into a weapon; one that will challenge Smaug's. I told him that it didn't work that way, and dragons are gentle creatures. But, he made up his mind about dragons being tools of mass destructions." She said, and Bilbo stopped walking.

"I take it that wasn't the worst?" He asked, and Helga looked at him.

"I agreed because I know he would kill me and scar if I didn't. He kept me in one of his prison cells. I managed to escape with my nephews and Scar, but I wouldn't say that we all left unharmed." She said.

"What happened?"

"Well, one thing is that I lost this from an elven dagger," She said, pushing her hair behind her left ear, and he saw that a part of her earlobe was missing. "And Scar was hit by an arrow. He flew us as far as he could reached, and that was when we crashed on the outskirts of Rivendell and died." She finished. At the end of her story, Bilbo didn't know what to say.

"Well, at least he died honorably," He said and Helga looked at the hobbit, confused."He gave up his life to save a woman like you! I don't meet a lot of women who's lived thousands of years and never learned a thing about cooking or herbs." He explained as he continued walking and Helga just smiled at Bilbo, especially when he stopped to look closely at a small plant and his brows shot up as he smiled and looked at her.

"Ah, look! What'd I tell you?! A bayleaf!"

* * *

After the satisfying dinner of venison, the Company leaned back on their logs, most of them smoking their pipes while Helga started on her carving, along with Bilbo. Some chose to retire early while some just sat in deep thought.

"Helga," Ori said, who was beside Helga and was watching her carve on a piece of wood. "What does that tattoo mean?" He asked, pointing to the tatoo on her left forearm, which he was trying to sketch. Ever since she woke up, she decided to remove the bandage covering it, and just leave it be... For the meantime. She has plans on covering it once they've reached the Woodland realm.

"This is the tattoo that most dragon knights get once they've pledged their service to the tribe and to Bathala, our god." She said, showing her tattoo to everyone, who seemed to listen.

"Dragon knights?" Kili asked and Helga nodded.

"The protectors of the tribe, lead by a legion commander," She said. "I got this tattoo just a few years before Smaug attacked, and I was working my way up the ranks, even started to hear rumors about me being the next legion commander." She smirked at the memory of her best friends teasing her about the position, especially since her intended was the current legion commander. Don't get her wrong, they loved each other, but only as best friends. Their engagement was arranged, and Daario longed for another.

"You must have been pretty good, then" Fili said, and Helga shrugged.

"I was moderate. I wasn't as good as Daario, the current legion commander that time, but I was getting close."

"So do you train your dragons for attacking, too?" Kili asked, and Helga smiled as she shook her head.

"Dragons were used for manual labor or as pets in our tribe, if not used for travelling. We tame them and study them, and we form a bond with them; a connection of the soul. Sure, we give them armors, but it is only for protection. We train them to not engage in fights," She explained, and some of the dwarves found it quite hard to believe, with their experience wiyh Smaug. "It would be easier to believe if I could show you." She said, smiling sadly.

"Are there any dragons left, Helga? Well, besides the obvious one." Bilbo asked from beside her and she smiled.

"There are the dragons that they turned into abominations in Mordor, and there is Smaug, but they have been turned against the will of Bathala and became corrupted," She sighed sadly. "The dragons that I talk about are long gone, or so I think. Valar knows if there are any left." She muttered.

"Excuse me to drift out of topic, lass," Bofur says, which broke off the sad, emotional mood of the camp "But if you worship this Bathala, how come you never mention him and always pray to the Valar?" He asked confused. Helga just looked into the flames as she gripped her left forearm.

"I stopped believing in him a long time ago. Bathala didn't save my tribe, nor did he ever listen to my prayers. Maybe this time, the Valar would."

* * *

 **Soooo more info about Helga, and for once, Alvor was quiet! XD Okay, first off, I would like to thank those who followed, favorited, and reviewed on this story (a great increase, actually) and I was squealing with delight on the corner of my room when I read them XD There wasn't much Thelga (special thanks to Arianna Le Fay, who was able to think of it) because I want to develop the relationship between Helga and the rest of the Company first before the romance starts ;)**

 **So what do you think about this chapter? Good? Bad? Demand more Thelga? ;) (I might squeeze in a bit of Thelga in the next chapter if you guys want) Let me know! :D**

 **Stay tuned for upcoming chapters!**

 **~Gabrielle**


	18. Chapter 18

A few days later, and Helga thought that things would get better; she and the Company have started to grow close throughout these few days, and her and Thorin's arguments have been reduced to... well, petty arguments. With an addition of playful banter, of course.

"Why are we stopping?" Helga asked the other day, noting that there was still daylight. She knew that it wasn't amywhere near dawn.

"There are wounded. We cannot wear them out." Thorin said as the others started to sit down.

"Wounded? Wear them out?" Helga scoffed. "You mean that you're too old and worn out to travel another mile," She said, raising an eyebrow at Thorin, who seemed to frown even more. "I'm not wounded anymore, you know. If you'd like to check my bare back yourself-"

"No!" Thorin exclaimed and caught the attention of the Company. He gabe out a long sigh, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why does this woman have to be such a pain in his arse?

"I do not need to check your bare back, nor will I ever want to," He growled. "Everybody get up! We move on." The Company was rather confused about their king's orders. However, no one made any move to question it and continued to move on. All was completely well.

That is why Helga found herself running alongside with the Company from a giant bear.

What shocked her the most was not the size of the bear, but how Bombur was the fastest one to run amongst them. They were headed towards a house in the middle of a plain, and Helga figured that this might be the house that Gandalf must have been talking about.

As the dwarves reaches the door, Helga saw that one of her nephews managed to trip and stumble down. Stopping abruptly to get Alvor up, she grabbed him by the collar as they both stood up, with him eventually stumbling and not fully regaining his balance yet. The both of them ran towards the open doors as fast as their legs could carry, the Company shouting at them to hurry. She could feel the bear closing in on them and as theu were naught but a few feet from the door, she pushed her nephew towards the house and leaped towards it to avoid the jaws of an angry, oversized, black bear. She lay there for a while, panting and listening to the Company exclaiming to get the door shut. She stood up, and rushed to help the Company push the door for it to close, abd once she heard the lock placed on it, she slumped back and sighed with relief.

"What _is_ that?" Ori asked Gandalf, tired and out of breath

"That...is our host," Gandalf explained, catching everyone's attention. "His name is Beorn, and he is a skin-changer." Helga stood up, with the help of Amren, amd she raised her brow at the wizard.

"They do exist?" She asked, and Gandalf nodded as he leaned on his staff.

"Sometimes he's a huge black bear; sometimes he's a great strong man," He explained. "The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not overfond of dwarves." He gave the dwarves a warning look and they all muttered to themselves. Young Ori, however, the mosr curious one amongst them, went beside Helga at the door.

"He's still out there." Helga said, looking through a crack. Ori, who was also looking through a crack beside the blonde girl, exclaimed as he saw the huge bear turn and walk.

"He's leaving!" Ori said. The Company turned to look at them, and if they weren't recovering from a bear chasing them, they would've laughed at how childish both young Ori and Helga looked like, peaking through the holes on the door. Dori grabbed Ori and Helga, pulling the both of them away from the door.

"Come away from there! It's not natural, none of it. It's obvious: he's under some dark spell." Dori said, looking at Gandalf, who just scoffed.

"Don't be a fool; he's under no enchantment but his own," He said, looking around. "Alright now, get some sleep, all of you. You'll be safe here tonight... I hope."

* * *

Bilbo's eyes opened at the sound of a creaking door, and hr froze as he saw the silhouette of a rather large man enter and look around the place. His eyes scanned the company, and he saw that Helga was awake beside him. She could see from his eyes that he saw something behind her, and she just lifted a finger and motioned him to be quiet. She listened and just laid there as she heard heavy footsteps going away.

The next day, though, was a disaster. Gandalf had formulated a plan on how they would all be introduced and it turned out to be an almost disaster, just because the old man wasn't more specific on the signal. Beorn, the skin changer, however, accepted them and agreed for the Company to stay for at least a week to gather their strength and rest for a while, and of course... bathe. At that news, the whole company cheered and ran towards the nearby stream. Well, besides Helga, Alvor, and Gandalf, of course. Gandalf was sitting by the stream, watching over the Company over a lit pipe while Helga was carving a piece of wood and Alvor was just gloomily sitting beside her, arms crossed. Helga took this as a chance to try to reach out to him; get to know him a little better.

"So, Alvor, I heard you were going to be appointed captain of the guards." Helga started, and Alvor sighed. Helga, without looking up, knew that he was rolling his eyes... It was a Skyrunner thing.

"I would have been, if not for you." Alvor said, and Helga tried to make the mood light, even though his words stung.

"Hey, I don't think that's true. Tell you what: when we return to Rivendell, I'll bet that they're holding that position just for you." She said, pointing the carving knife on him before returning to her work.

"You mean when Amren and I return to Rivendell," He said, and he sighed. "You don't know anything about us." He said, before standing up. Helga looked at him, dismayed and thinking that if she were to make amends with her nephews, it would be right now while they were resting. She stood up and followed him.

"Alvor." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. She didn't know if he meant it or if it was reflex from years of training; probably a bit of both. But as she laid her hand on his shoulder, her turned and grabbed it, pulling her towards him before punching her square in the face.

Everything was silent for the two of them. They didn't hear the laughing and splashing sounds that the Company made, they didn't hear the whispers of the wind or the birds tweeting; it was silent for a second and Helga stood stunned, wiping the blood from her split lip and looked at it. Oh yes, she was still standing, alright. After all these years, it would take more than a punch in the face to bring Helga Skyrunner down. As she saw the blood on her hands, she closed her eyes and sighed. She tried to bear it; his cold demeanor and his biting words, but this has gone too far and she would not tolerate Alvor treating her that way, even though he was her nephew.

So with pain and rage, she clenched her hand and swung it so hard that she heard a disgusting crack as her fist collided with his nose. He doubled over, stunned and holding his bloody nose, while trying to stand and continue to fight. However, no matter how fast he swung his fist, she always managed to dodge it. This one time she dodged, Alvor stumbled forward and lost his balance.

"You think you know everything?" She spat at him as she watched him try to stand up and regain his balance. "That you have what it takes to talk back to me? To disrespect me?" He swung a fist at her and she side-stepped and pushed him on the back. "Well, you're wrong!" She swept his legs and he fell, straddling hi, to pin him down and punch him. "You are weak!" _Punch. "_ You do not know anything about this world!" _Punch._ "Your mother died and I left you when I thought that you know how to reason!" _Punch._ "Well, the whole of Arda is crying for you!" By now, tears were streaming down her eyes and she wrapped her hands around his neck. Not enough to cut off the air passage, but enough to know that it was a threat. "I LOST MY WHOLE TRIBE WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE! I LOST EVERYTHING I HAD!" By then, she was shaking uncontrollably. She didn't hear the birds tweeting anymore -must've scared them off, nor the Company laughing and splashing around because they were all half dressed and looking at the scene before them. She sensed this and closed her eyes, calming down before letting out a sigh and releasing his neck, standing up and letting him lie there to process what just happened. She looked down on his confused and scared eyes, no emotion showing in hers. "You are nothing but an arrogant child who only knows the peace and safety of Rivendell's walls," She spat, and Alvor, despite his pride and snarky remarks, knew that this was the truth. "The Alvor I brought up, the-... the son that I grew to love died long ago." She said, rather softly this time, as she turned around and ignored the stares of the Company. She headed straight into Beorn's cottage, with only the thought of tending to her bleeding lip and knuckles as soon as possible.

* * *

 **I'M BAAACK!**

 **First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize for the late update because I was in a summer camp! But, I think that you guys would love to know that I am posting two chapters to compensate for my absence. Anyways, what a chapter, huh? Helga couldn't take it anymore! Well, everybody has their breaking points, I guess :P Anyways, I love your reviews from the last chapter! KashinaKairi, that may not be a bad idea ;) We'll see! Anyways, I would love to hear about what you think about this chapter and I would suggest that you guys hang on for the next chapter ;)**

 **~Gabrielle**


	19. Chapter 19

It had been a few days after the incident between Helga and Alvor and everybody knew better than to speak of it. So, they just decided to let the problem be and let the two of them settle it and enjoy the few days of peace and rest that they have for the time being. Helga, whose wounds have already healed the next day, went hunting with Kili again to practice and acted as if she didn't beat her nephew up to teach him a lesson just a few days ago. They managed to capture another deer and this time, with Beorn's tools supplies, Bombur was able to teach Helga a bit of cooking and properly season the meat. Fortunately, the meat was plenty enough for everybody and even Beorn admitted that it was nice to have someone cook for him once in a while. So, after the wonderful dinner and a barrel of Beorn's special honeyed mead, the company were in high spirits as they leaned back on their elbows, lazily watching the embers from the Beorn's hearth float around. Suddenly, Bofur had an idea. He brought out his flute and played a tune that only one other member in the company knows. He shot Helga a look, telling her to join in, but she shot him back a look.

"That's a new tune, you're playing," Balin said and Bofur just smiled, his plan already working. "What might it be?"

"Oh, just a song that our dear Helga taught me this morning. Afraid got stuck in my head and I might have to sing it!" He said and Helga just smiled sarcastically at him as he stood up.

"Oh, do go on!" She said, gesturing her hand at the campfire. It was a bad move because Bofur took that hand and pulled her on her feet and held out a hand towards her as an invitation to dance.

 ** _I'll swim and sail on savage seas_**

 ** _with ne'er a fear of drowning._**

 ** _And gladly ride the waves of life_**

 ** _if you will marry me._**

 ** _No scorching sun, nor freezing cold_**

 ** _Will stop me on my journey_**

 ** _If you will promise me your heart._**

 ** _And love..._**

Bofur stopped, urging her to sing and take his hand. Helga sighed in defeat and smile. There was no way she would be able to resist it... It was her favorite song from her tribe.

 _...And love me for eternity._

It seemed that Bofur wasn't the only one that smiled because some of the company members cheered. Helga just laughed and took his hand and they started to dance.

 _My dearest one, my darling dear,_

 _your mighty words astound me._

 _But I've no need of mighty deeds_

 _when I feel your arms around me._

 ** _But I would bring you rings of gold,_**

 ** _I'd even sing you poetry!_** _(Really now?)_

 ** _And I would keep you from all harm_**

 ** _if you would stay beside me!_**

At this point, some of the company members started clapping and cheering as Bofur and Helga danced around the campfire.

 _I have no use for rings of gold,_

 _I care not for your poetry._

 _I only want your hand to hold..._

 ** _I only want you near me!_**

 _To_ _ **love**_ _and_ _ **kiss**_ _, to_ _ **sweetly**_ _hold!_

 ** _For_** _the_ _ **dancing**_ _and_ _ **the**_ _dreaming!_

 ** _Through_** _all_ _ **life's**_ _sorrows_ _ **and**_ _delights,_

 ** _I'll_** _keep_ _ **your**_ _love i_ _ **nside**_ _me!_

 ** _I'll_** _swim_ _ **and**_ _sail_ _ **on**_ _savage_ _ **seas**_

 _with_ _ **ne'er**_ _a_ _ **fear**_ _of_ _ **drowning**_ _!_

 ** _And_** _gladly_ _ **ride**_ _the_ _ **waves**_ _of_ _ **life**_

 _If_ _ **you**_ _will_ _ **marry**_ _me!_

Bofur and Helga ended up tripping and rolling on the ground, laughing with the company... Well, all except one, who did try to enjoy the scene, but seeing Bofur and Helga together just felt wrong to him. He suddenly wished that he was in Bofur's shoes. He wished that he had been chatty with Helga, made her teach him that song so that he could play it in the harp for her and they'll be the one dancing around the fire...

Wait... What?

Thorin mentally shook his head (and probably himself) for thinking such things. _Play the harp for her?!_ Was he insane?! He never played the harp for anybody but his nephews, and that was only once, when she was trying to put Fili and Kili to sleep. He sighed and went out of the skin changer's house, with his pipe in hand and a heaviness in his chest.

* * *

A few songs and mugs later, the Company settled down to sharing stories over the fire with their own respective mugs of mead. Helga, who had quite a lot, looked around and missed the presence of one pompous dwarf king. She stood up and staggered a bit, with a full mug on her hand, and she filled up another one before going around to look for the dwarf king. And alas! She found him sitting on one of Beorn's benches outside of the house.

"There you are!" She said, staggering as she made her way there and sitting down, settling one mug on the edge of a bench, and another between her and Thorin.

"And here I thought I could have at least one quiet night." Thorin grumbled with his pipe between his lips and Helga, in her half drunken stupor, giggled and leaned back.

"Stop being so grumpy," She mumbled. "And I can be quiet." She said, leaning towards him a bit and raising an eyebrow at him while nursing her own mug of mead. There they sat, the King Under the Mountain and the Dragon Rider, looking up at the clear sky and enjoying one of the rare moments of peace they had during the journey. Although Helga was relaxed and was half drunk, Thorin was not. He was, for an unexplainable reason, tense, especially with this woman beside him. He thought that going out for a puff would help calm his nerves, but it wasn't working at the moment.

"So... You and your nephew had a fight?" He asked. Helga huffed and looked down at her mug.

"He was asking for it," She mumbled. "And that boy needed to be taught a lesson."

"He's still a boy. He has much to learn." Thorin said.

"Yes, but his younger brother has more sense than him." Helga said, taking a sip at her mug.

"What did happen all those years ago?" He suddenly asked, not knowing if she was all up for the topic.

"What exactly do you mean by 'those years'? You have to be specific when you're asking a very old woman."

"I am sure you aren't that old." Thorin scoffed, and Helga laughed, setting down her own mug.

"Well then, Thorin Oakenshield, how old do you think I am?" She asked, facing him.

"Well, if you are from the race of Men, I would say that you are around 30 years old." Thorin said and Helga smirked.

"You are too kind, but remember; I am not from the race of Men. Dragon Riders have longer lives." She said and Thorin sighed, keeping his pipe and taking a sip from his mug.

"Well... 100?" He asked and Helga laughed.

"I would still be a teen during that time!" She exclaimed and Thorin smirked.

"Well, how old **are** you?"

"Well, Your Majesty, I am not really 2 millenias old. I am 1500 years old." She said and Thorin raised his brow.

"Really?"

"Yes, I am really getting old," She sighed. "This afternoon, I was washing the dishes, and I saw through the water that my hair is starting to grey!" She exclaimed, which startled her, and froze, afraid she was being too loud. She looked at him and giggled. "Please don't tell our nephews about this," She said, pointing at her hair. "I'll never hear the end of it!"

"I wouldn't think of it. Fili and Kili still rubs it on my face until now." He mumbled in his pipe, frowning and Helga giggled.

And silence once again.

"But really: what did happen all those years ago?" Thorin asked and Helga finished off her mead before sighing.

"I didn't really leave them while they were babes. I guess that it was just people's way of making me guilty enough to go back to Rivendell and fix things," She said, swinging her crossed legs back and forth. "I took care of them until they were teens before I left them. True, they were still boys. They cried for their mother and father every night, and had nightmares about Smaug, and I raised them and loved them like my own because I have nothing left. No family, no home... And now, they despise me because I am an irresponsible, arrogant, and selfish person." She sighed, leaning back on the wall. Thorin looked at his own mug of mead before offering it to Helga. She looked at him for a while with a raised brow before taking it and drinking from it. Valar knows how much she needs it more than him. What surprised him, however, was when she nudged him the mug, offering to share. He accepted the gesture, and they sat there in silence, sharing a mug of honeyed mead and enjoying one of the last few peaceful nights that they will share before they jump into the fray once more.

"You... are not that horrible," Thorin suddenly spoke, and Helga looked at him. He didn't realize how close they were actually sitting, with only a mug sitting between them. He gingerly took the hand that held the mug, placing the mug down, and placing their hands on his lap. Helga looked from their hands, to Thorin's face to look into his eyes. "You were young, and you did your best to raise them. I think that you just wanted to make this world a better place to live in, that's why you wanted to kill Smaug," He said, and Helga smiled sadly, looking down. "Love is sacrifice, and I was once told that if you were really old," He said nudging her shoulder and she laughed a bit. "And if you were really kind, and that if you were the last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and hear children cry." Thorin said, and Helga looked at him, shocked by what he said. by the emotions that he was showing her tonight. But all Thorin had to do was look into her eyes to know that deep down inside, she knew that what he said was true. He didn't know if it was the mead, or it was him acting on his own accord, but he lightly took her chin and he gently pulled her towards him. He gingerly placed a kiss on her bottom lip, and did so once more, lingering just a bit before he pulled back, a deep flush on his neck and cheeks as she stared at him, smiling wildly.

"Was that your first kiss?" She asked, giggling, and Thorin blushed even more, embarrassed. He crossed his arms and looked away.

"If it was that horrible, at least spare me from the taunting." He grumbled and Helga just laughed, shaking her head before quickly placing her hand behind his head.

"Come here." She said, smiling as she pulled him into a kiss, placing her hands on his cheek as she deepened it, leaving the dwarven king stunned. But it was the good kind of stun. And so they spent the rest of the night kissing, talking, and kissing again, before they eventually fell asleep, with Helga's head on his shoulder and their cloaks wrapped around them. And for once, the both of them didn't dream about nightmares or wars or homes burning.

For once, even in their dreams, there was peace.

* * *

 **I know... FINALLY! XD To anyone who recognizes the song, it's 'For The Dancing and the Dreaming' from How To Train Your Dragon 2 :P And to anyone who recognizes the other reference in Thorin's compliment, cookies for you! So, how was it? Was he a bit OOC? If he was, I apologize since it's my first time writing a Thorin fic :/ Anyways, I would like to thank, again, the reviewers, the followers, and the favorite-ers! Also, I made a new blog in Tumblr called Heart of Gold: Behind the Scenes. I just posted one picture, but I'll be posting more pictures of Helga, Alvor, Amren, and Thelga, too ^_^ Anyways, tell me about what you guys think in the chapter!**

 **Lots of love**

 **~Gabrielle**


	20. Chapter 20

Amren woke up, feeling good from having a peaceful sleep in the Skinchanger's house. He sat up and looked around, and the Company was still asleep, which was no surprise to him. He was always the first one to wake up among the Company. Despite being a healer, he was used to an early schedule in Rivendell. He would wake up early, prepare any salves, potions, and etcetera for the head healer, then he would tend to the small, indoor garden of herbs that they grew near the infirmary, and he would spend the rest of the day following the head healer's orders or reading his books. Amren smiled as he saw the sun about to shine just outside the window, and decided to find a good spot in the area to greet it. As he opened the humongous doors, he stretched his arms and yawned, feeling content despite knowing the danger that awaits them. He had no plans of going back to Rivendell, yet. He planned on completing this journey with his aunt, and get to know her better, first. His brother, however was a different story. As he took in his surroundings, his brow rose as he saw the youngest Durin heir sitting on a rock, hand under his chin in a thinking position as his brows furrowed, as if he was in very deep contemplation. Amren decided to approach him, thinking that he might be able to help with whatever ails the young prince.

"What trou-"

"Shhhhhhh." He said, placing a finger on his lips without looking at the young Dragon Rider. Amren furrowed his brows and he looked at the young prince.

"What-"

"Shh... They might wake up." Kili whispered, nodding his head towards the direction of his stare. It was then Amren realized that he failed to see the two figures sleeping silently on the bench, leaning on each other with their cloaks wrapped around themselves. Amren huffed in disbelief and sat beside the dwarf prince, his grin growing wider as he stared at the sleeping couple.

"I was wondering where my aunt went last night." Amren whispered, and Kili smiled.

"So does this mean that we're related, now?" Kili asked, and Amren shrugged.

"I guess, so," Amren replied, and they both fell silent... That was until Kili grinned and tried to stifle his laughter. Amren looked at the young dwarf prince, and smiled. "What, now?"

"I have an idea." Kili said, and he reached up to whisper Amren his plan, and Amren huffed an amused huff, shaking his head.

"Your uncle will kill me for this."

* * *

Thorin woke up from a warm sensation in his cheek. He sighed, from his disturbed sleep, and stirred awake. Suddenly, he felt something heavy on his shoulder roll off, and his eyes widened.

"Not much of a good morning, eh?" The woman beside him groaned, stretching her back and hearing cracks. His was no better. "We really are getting old."

"Tell me about it." Thorin grumbled, for once slumping and feeling the strain on his back relax. Their morning couldn't get any better when he heard his nephew's voice from the window behind them.

"Good morning, Aunt Helga!"

"Good morning, Uncle Thorin!" That wasn't Fili or Kili's voice. That sounded like Helga's youngest nephew, Amren. It didn't help him when they turned to see that he was right. Their two youngest nephews grinning from ear to ear at them.

"Breakfast is ready, Aunt Helga." Kili said, smiling at her as she sighed and shook her head.

"Or would you rather have your alone time first?" Amren continued, before the two of them left the couple alone, in an awkward silence. Despite the saying 'With age, comes great wisdom' the two were new to this game and had no idea how to act around each other after the events of last night. Helga stood up, and muttered quickly.

"Erm-... I'll get-"

"Yes.. you should." Thorin said, cutting her off in her sentence, which made him even more tense. He watched as Helga scurried inside the large house, instantly wishing that this morning had a different turn of events. But, despite that, a smile suddenly tugged on the corner of his lips as he remembered last night...

They kissed.

It was true that she was his first, but he was quite disappointed that he wasn't her first, too. As he walked in to get breakfast, he silently wondered how many men Helga had before him. He looked at her, smacking his and her nephew on the back of their heads before making her way towards a seat, and suddenly a thought entered him. It was no secret that Helga had relations with men before Thorin, that she made clear last night. But the question that made Thorin's mood suddenly sour was how far did they get into their relationship, and if he was going to turn into one if those men: forgotten.

* * *

"I'm telling you, we can't go around, you stubborn dwarf!" They heard the Dragon Rider exclaim from outside, where she, Thorin, and Gandalf were making plans for their journey ahead. "You have to arrive before Durin's day, yeah? It would take you twice the time to reach the mountain! Time we cannot afford!"

"I am telling you, woman, I would not go through that wretched forest! To go through that forest would mean that we have to pass by that woodland sprite's halls! We would take the Old Forest Road."

"There is a reason why it's called old, Thorin! The path is broken, tattered, and can be barely seen! But fine, be my guest! I would not come running to save you and your Company when you get lost!"

"Oh, it is I who needs saving now, do I? I don't recall running away from Rivendell and getting herself caught in the Goblin Town!"

"Oh, you insufferable dwarf! What are you laughing at, old man?! Laugh some more and I'll make it look like you choked on your pipe by accident!" The Company who were listening from inside the house, were looking at each other. Only Helga had the gall to threaten a Maiar like that, and he was laughing! However, not all of the Company were listening to the ramblings from outside. Alvor, who was still bruised in some parts and had stitches on his face, sat in front of Oin, who was the one who took his stiches off for his brother was busy eavesdropping with the youngest dwarf prince.

"Must have been a pretty harsh beating." He heard a voice behind Oin say. He moved his head to see the blonde haired dwarf.

"Fili, am I correct?" Alvor grumbled as Oin forced his head back to face the healer. He felt someone sit beside him and he saw from the corner of his eye that it was Fili.

"You know, your stance was a bit off yesterday. That's why you got beaten up." Fili said bluntly.

"It's the only one I know. It's the one I grew up with." Alvor said, hissing as Oin pulled at the thread.

"Where did you learn it? The elves?" Fili asked, and Alvor grunted a 'yes' as Oin gathered his tools and left. "Ah, no wonder."

"What?" Alvor asked, and Fili smirked.

"Elves and their stances. Their stances are for the lightly built figures, like your brother. You, my friend, are not lightly built," Fili said, smiling, but immediately fell when he saw Alvor's brow raised. "No offense."

In the meantime, Kili and Amren saw the whole exchange and both rolled their eyes.

"They'll probably spend the whole afternoon talkong about weapons." Kili grumbled.

"Tell me about it." Amren said, turning back to the window, where their aunt and uncle were still arguing, Helga throwing her hands around and Thorin's arma crossed while Gandalf still sat back, an amused smile on his lips as he smoked his pipe.

"If you could only stop thinking about your damned pride for just a second, then maybe you'd start thinking for a change!"

"This has nothing to do with pride, woman! It is about honor! That _King_ you speak of," He spat the word. "Does not have one."

"You think I do not know that?!"

"I think you do not know anything, especially of honor!" The Company, this time with Fili and even Alvor listening, looked at each other, confused.

"What was that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing. Forget it."

"No, I want to know! Obviously, this is about something else. Do enlighten me, my King, for obviously I know nothing." Helga mocked. It took a while before Thorin spoke.

"How many men have you been with?" He spoke quickly in a low voice.

"Are you serious?! This is what it's all about?!" Helga exclaimed in disbelief.

"I have the right to know." Thorin said, his voice dangerously low. However, Helga does not realize this.

"What right do you have? We kissed, but it doesn't make you my anything!" Helga exclaimed, and the Company had their jaws hanging, the four nephews looking disgusted by the news, but not at all surprised. Everything was silent, and Gandalf sat up straight, looking at Helga who looked utterly confused. "What?"

"Helga," Gandalf started carefully, knowing that she was walking on thin ice with Thorin at the moment. "For dwarves, a kiss is more than just an act of physical contact. For them, a kiss is an act of love, and is not to be given or taken lightly." Gandalf explained, and Helga looked at Thorin, not knowing whether to be angry, confused, or sad for him.

"Thorin-"

"We leave for Mirkwood tomorrow. We take the elven road, since you and the wizard are so admant about it. We'll pass by Laketown for supplies and lodging, then you can slay your damned dragon and begone. I've had enough dealings with women who abandon men for fun." He said, walking off, and Helga scoffed, tears in her eyes.

"Oh, that is low of you, Thorin! I am not the deserter among us because I'm not the one who's walkimg away!" Helga shouted at Thorin, who just ler out a string of curses in Khuzdul. Everything was silent for a moment, as Helga leaned over the table with a map, shutting her eyes and stopping her tears. She took in a deep breath before exhaling and wiping her tears away, steel now back in her eyes. Their fights were never this bad. It was usually just an exchange of smart insults and it usually just made them annoyed at each other's presence. They never felt like their hearts were being ripped out from their chests.

But why did this one fight leave the both of them feeling exactly like that?

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry, but this is really really late! Its just that the past few weeks, I haven'r been feeling much love for the fic, because I had a huge writer's block. (You can thank Sebstian Stan being so hot as the Winter Soldier for that) But anyways, I'm back to writing this story! Again, dont worry because I have already written the last chapter for this fic, but I'm just saying that expect uodates to be slower than usual :(**

 **Anyways, how was this chapter? They're fighting again :( But don't worry, I have a plan! Huehuehuehue :D Reviews are very much appreciated because you, my readers, are what keeps me going in this fic and I am very happy for your support and sticking with me for this long! :)**

 **~Gabrielle**


	21. Chapter 21

The Company treaded through the stone path, quiet and tense from the two most hard-headed members of their company. It was bad enough that they had to go through this enchanted forest and that their company wizard left them a few days ago, and some of them suspected that they were lost in the forest. They didn't need any tension between Helga and Thorin, too. Thorin, as expected, was at the front, clearing out leaves on the path with Bofur, while Helga was at the back, hands clenched hard on the straps of her satchel that her knuckles were turning white.

"Are you alright, Helga?" Fili asked, stopping his conversation with Alvor and turned back to look at her.

"I'm fine." She mumbled through gritted teeth, looking downband kicking a stone.

"If this is about uncle-"

"He is not your uncle, Amren." Helga said, glaring at Amren, who just shrugged.

"One way or another," Kili, who was beside Amren, said. "Thorin will be Ren's uncle, then you'd be my aunt. It would eventually end that way." The young dwarf prince shrugged, smiling beside the young dragon rider.

"Ha! It's just the forest that's giving you these delusions." Helga laughed bitterly, and smiled sadly. After their argument in Beorn's house, she admitted -to herself, of course, that she was quite guilty about their kisses. She felt guilty that she did it without thinking what it would mean for Thorin. But after her number of lovers and the number of times that her heart got broken, a kiss was nothing more to her than just pressing physical contact. During her journeys alone, she forgot the feeling of love from another person, for her past relations were either one night stands or nothing really serious. She looked up to see the back of the dwarven king, and sighed, looking down at her feet again.

Although to be fair, she didn't know that a kiss would be something so serious for dwarves.

'Valar, all this thinking makes my head hurt.' Helga thought, sighing and reaching for her water skin. She took a short swig before keeping it. But despite the water, the dull ache between her head worsened.

"How long have we been walking?" Helga asked weakly, and Kili and her youngest nephew, who grew silent, shrugged, their shoulders slumped.

"Whole noon, I guess?" Kili said, his voice less excited than usual, which was very odd. Helga sighed, and suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her head, making her groan in pain. She stopped by a nearby tree and leaned on it.

 _Helga_.

Whose voice was that?

 _Helga, listen to me. We don't have much time_ -

A loud screech cut the voice in her head and she looked up to see the figure of something rather familiar. She let out a happy sigh and grinned, some sort of relief spreading through her chest.

"Dragon." She sighed, following the flying figure on the sky, until she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Helga," The voice snapped her out from her delusion, and she was faced with the face of her eldest nephew, trying to keep his usual hard mask, but had a look of concern in his eyes... It didn't suit him. "We have to keep moving." He said, placing his arm around her waist as he made sure that she was walking straight, and didn't trip on anything. This went on for a while before the haze in Helga's mind cleared a little.

"I'm fine, Alvor," She told him, and he dropped his arm from her waist. But he didn't go ahead of her, as she expected. They walked in awkward silence, the both of them going through their heads on what to say to the other. "Alvor, I apologize for the other day." Was the first to say, and Alvor looked at Helga, guilt eating him up from the stomach.

"No, Hel-... Aunt Helga... I guess that I needed that. I was a bit rusty, anyways." He said, shrugging his shoulders and smiling at Helga, who smiled back. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

* * *

She spoke too soon.

They passed by the enchanted river, and everything was going perfectly well. They found a way acroos it from their company hobbit, and were already making their way through the vines, until Bombur fell face first on the river. All of them groaned in annoyance. It just had to be the heaviest among them. Helga, Amren, and Alvor ended up being the ones to carry the sleeping dwarf, them being taller and -a bit- stronger than the dwarves. They've been going on like that for days, and things did not get any better when Bombur woke up, re-telling his dream about a feast just when they ran out of food.

The company stopped to rest for a while, and Helga, through her dulled senses, heard them arguing about a dwarven pouch, and Bilbo stating that they have been going around it circles. At this point, Helga didn't care about anything anymore, except for getting out of this wretched forest. For the past days, she had been seeing hallucinations. The only reason why she knew that they were hallucinations was because through the little bit of sanity that she still has, she knew that they were all dead. Her first hallucination, after the flying dragon incident, was her mother and father, walking beside her like a regular bickering couple. After that, was her cousin Hosue, who look like he's been burnt alive. It took a bit longer for him to disappear, because he's been putting her down the whole time, blaming her for his death and the downfall of her whole tribe. All she had to do was to shout at him to stop in a rather colorful way, in her language, and he disappeared. With a few odd looks from The Company, of course. The most recent one was her dragon, Bane, and she admitted that she cried when she saw him. He didn't do anything, but just walk alongside her, occasionally nudging her hand with his snout. He disappeared when she started crying, which didn't do anything to stop her crying, only making it worse.

As she recalled her hallucinations, she didn't notice that the whole Company grew silent, for all of them were gone. She looked up, looking around to see where they had went. 'Maybe they have left me for good, as Thorin once threatened.' She thought bitterly. She sighed, and looked down again. However, something didn't feel right. She felt that certain tingling at the back of her neck whenever she felt that she wasn't alone. However, when she turned around, there was no one. But there was this one spot that nobody really bothered to look when they had that feeling, and Helga almost didn't want to look. She slowly looked up, only to let out a scream as she found herself face-to-face with a rather large face of a spider before she felt a sharp stab on her back.

* * *

Why is it so dark? Why couldn't I see anything

 _Helga... Listen to me just this once._

That voice. She heard it before, during the time she thought she saw a flying dragon.

 _Helga, you and your nephews have to stick with Thorin and his nephews._

Why? What's wrong?

 _You have to save them from the horrible fate that awaits them._

What fate? Thorin becoming a king? Is that so horrible?

 _Helga, you must save them. Protect them._

Who are you?

 _HELGA! AUNT HELGA! WAKE UP! WE NEED YOU!_

Alvor?!

* * *

Helga woke up, her head aching. It was like those times that you wake up very late in the morning, and you're sweating and the weather is hot. Except this time, it was only the headache. She breathed in and out, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Five more minutes." She said groggily.

"We don't have five minutes! We're being overrun by spiders!" Alvor exclaimed, and Helga's eyes snapped open, with one word in her mind. Thorin. She shot up, along with her nephew, and immediately pulled out her sword and rushed to the fray of spiders and dwarves. Helga cringed and grimaced in disgust. She never really liked the long-legged insects. It didn't help that they were human-sized, either. She almost threw up when she beheaded her first spider, the thick, black substance that was their blood spraying on her and emitting a horrible smell.

She was distracted by all the hacking and slashing of spiders, that she didn't notice the elves starting to surround them. As she pulled her sword out of a spider, she felt a sword on the side of her neck.

"Drop your sword." The voice said, and Helga sighed. No, she wasn't going to submit to these pointy eared bastards. Not after the last time. And if ever she's going back to Thranduil's halls, she was not going down without a fight. She quickly leaned to her side, and lunged forward, rolling and getting back to her feet and facing at where her back was. She sighed and rolled her eyes and wasn't at all surprised to see who it was: the king's very own son.

"How is your father? Has he kept my parting gift with him?" She asked sarcastically, and the elven prince's eyes were suddenly filled with anger.

"Have you?" He asked in return, and smirked when he saw Helga's eyes flash in anger. "You will answer for your crimes against the king, dragon rider." The prince said, and Helga smirked.

"No, I will never go back there." She spat, and the elven prince smiled in triumph.

"Oh? Look around you, dragon rider," He said, and Helga looked around to see the Company and her nephews being held by at least one elf, a dagger to their necks. She sighed and looked into Thorin's commanding eyes. Put down your sword. Helga huffed in annoyance and dropped her weapon. They were all going to regret bringing her inside the Elvenking's halls, because one day, she would tear it down with her bare hands, pillar by pillar, and she didn't care if she died trying.

* * *

The band of elves and their prisoners neared the entrance of the Elvenking's Halls, and Helga had never felt such rage in her life. Her hands, that were tied behind her, and her hands were clenched hard that she started to draw blood from her palm.

"Helga." Thorin called out from beside her. It was the first time, after probably a week, that he talked to her. She looked at him and his eyes silently asking her if she was alright. She huffed and shook her head, keeping her eyes forward. At the moment, she cannot speak to anyone, for they might end up receiving all of the rage in her heart. When they entered, the Company was split up into two, with Thorin and Helga walking straight ahead, to the throne room, and with the Company being sent to the dungeons.

Thorin and Helga, who both turned sour as they neared the throne room, were already going through on what they will say to Thranduil once they arrive there. They came to a halt in front of a rather tall throne made of what looked like a collection of antlers, to Helga. When she set eyes upon the Elvenking, all the words that she thought of had disappeared, and all that was left was one word:

Murderer.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **So, I got my groove back on for this story, because I remembered how excited i was to write the meeting of Thranduil and Helga again... in the next chapter! Anyways, Helga and Thorin are now okay... ish, but they'll eventually get there! Anyways, regarding the strange voice in Helga's head, I guess you'll be making conclusions on how this story ends, but all I will say is that Thorin amd Helga will have a happy ending ;)**

 **Anyways, I know it's a bit late, but I'd like to thank X Blue Eyed Demon X, Lady Arien of Rohan, Kelly, and KashinaKairi, Necroposter, triniquitita, Arianna Le Fey, PhantomismyLove, Fanfiction Universe, Ince, alliesmiley2, zs040610, Hannah, Bleeding Blue Kunoichi, LITTLE RED FOXX, SunSetsOfAnotherWorld, PrimusNobility, angel897, Phantominthemists, and LostarielTuigalen for the reviews! Also for those who followed and reviewed in the story.**

 **If you, my dear readers have any question about the story, I'd be happy to answer :) Anyways, leave a review if ypu like! ;)**

 **~Gabrielle**


	22. Chapter 22

Thranduil was quite shocked to see her there, standing in front of his throne and with her hands bound. It had been quite a while since their last meeting, and he can't say that they parted in good terms. They gave each other something to remember for a lifetime, and none of them were good, either.

"Helga Skyrunner. It has been too long," Thranduil drawled. "I didn't expect to see you back in my halls."

"Why? Is it because you're afraid, after what I did to you last time?" Helga asked, smirking. Thranduil resisted to roll his eyes. The mark of a Skyrunner indeed, He thought. At least her grandmother was much kinder.

"No, I thought that you were too dead to return." The king said nonchalantly, tilting his head a bit and he felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Well, how about we make a deal? Your death for mine, how does that sound?" Helga said, and Thranduil shook his head and stood up, turning his attention to the dwarf king.

"Some may imagine that a noble quest is at hand," Thranduil started, going down his high and mighty throne. " A quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon. I myself suspect a more prosaic motive: attempted burglary, or something of that ilk." Thranduil looked at Thorin and Helga, who were both glaring at him in return. "You have found a way in," Thranduil said. " You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule: the King's Jewel, the Arkenstone. It is precious to you beyond measure. I understand that. There are gems in the mountain that I too desire. White gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help, Thorin Oakenshield," Thranduil said, and Helga rolled her eyes. A gesture that Thranduil did not miss. "You think that you know what that woman's true intentions are?" Helga made a move to speak, but Thorin held up a hand, stopping whatever snarky comment she was going to make.

"I am listening." Thorin said, making Helga gape at him.

"I will let you and your kin go, if you let Helga and her nephews stay here, and return what is mine," Helga looked at Thranduil, a question in his eyes. "Your nephews' features are just like a Skyrunner's. I saw it from the moment you all step foot in my kingdom."

"A favor for a favor?" Thorin asked, after he did a bit of musing.

"You have my word."

"And why do you wish to keep her here in your halls?" Thorin asked, his eyes of anger and jealousy betraying his calm voice.

"Do you really think that I would let a dragon rider near a dragon? Imagine what she could do with such a beast! The last time she brought one here, she almost burnt and destroyed my whole kingdom, and it was smaller than that lizard living under your kingdom. Imagine what she could do with Smaug!" Thranduil reasoned, and Helga was trying her best not the break his face. Controlling Smaug was the last thing she wanted to do. She doesn't want anymore dragons, after what happened to Bane, and all she wanted to do was to kill Smaug before he can wreak havoc to another race.

And if it was anyone who wanted to control that beast, it was him.

"I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honor his word should the end of all days be upon us!" Thorin exclaimed, for the whole kingdom to hear. "You lack all honor!" Thorin said, turning to face the Elvenking. "I've seen how you treat your friends. We came to you once, starving, homeless, seeking your help, but you turned your back. You turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us! Imrid amrad ursul!" Thorin cursed, and Thranduil's eyes turned dangerous.

"Do not talk to me of dragon fire! I know its wrath and ruin," Thranduil said, walking back and his face contorts, revealing a scarred and burnt portion of his face and a blind eye... literally. No wonder he never turns it on people. He glared at Helga, who looked indifferent. " And you have your dragon rider here to thank," His face immediately turned normal, and walked towards Helga. "But I think our little Skyrunner has learned her lesson not to anger me," He circled Helga, and Thorin kept his fists clenched, trying not to punch his pretty face. "Won't you enlighten us on what was the price you paid?" Helga looked at Thranduil, her glare never faltering. She took in a deep breath and frowned even more before she spoke.

"You shot my dragon with a poisoned arrow." She snarled, and Thranduil smirked, before facing Thorin again.

"I warned your grandfather of what his greed would summon, but he would not listen," Thranduil said. "You are just like him." Thranduil gestured towards Thorin and the guards grabbed him, taking him away. Helga turned to follow Thorin, however the guards stopped her, the both of them looking at each other with worry in their eyes. "Stay here if you will, and rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I am patient. I can wait," Thranduil sat once more on his throne, and Helga waited in silence before he spoke. "Now that your precious Oakenshield is gone, shall we discuss business?"

* * *

"Did he offer you a deal?" Was the first thing Balin asked when Thorin was thrown into his cell. Thorin looked angry and tense, as he paced around the cell.

"He did. I told him he could go ish kakhfê ai'd dur rugnu! Him and all his kin!" Thorin shouted the curse, his voice echoing throughout the whole dungeon. Balin sighed and pursed his lips, wishing that Thorin wasn't so hardheaded to decline the deal.

"Well...that's it, then. A deal was our only hope." Balin said, and Thorin look at the other cells, a knowing smile on his lips.

"Not our only hope," Thorin said, before sitting down beside the old dwarf and sighing. "He took Helga. I don't know what he wants to do with her." Thorin said, worry in his voice.

"Helga is a strong woman, Thorin. Have faith in her." Balin assured, but Thorin shook his head.

"It looked like Thranduil wanted to execute her then and there in the throne room," Thorin said, hand holding the bars of his cell and looking up, waiting for any sign that Helga was coming down to join them in one of the cells. Anything that her not appearing. "I have faith in her."

* * *

"What do you want?" Helga asked, looking up at the blonde king who was sitting leisurely in his throne, head resting on his hand.

"What makes you think that I would want anything from you?" Thranduil asked, eyeing her down.

"The fact that I am still alive. Or that you sent Thorin away and haven't sent me with him?"

"What if I wanted you just right here; my prized trophy... The Last Dragon Rider." Thranduil said, smirking and Helga rolled her eyes.

"I'm as good as a half of a trophy, without my dragon. I wonder where he went? Oh that's right! You shot him down!" Helga said, smirking at the smug king. "Now what the hell do you want?!" Helga exclaimed.

"You." He said, a dangerous gleam in his eyes and Helga looked at him in utter confusion.

"What?!"

"Oh, do not flatter yourself," Thranduil said, standing up and going down his throne. "I require your skills and expertise, to be precise."

"What 'expertise'?" Helga asked, eyeing the king as he walked around her, assessing her.

"If I remember correctly, you are a Dragon Knight, correct?" Thranduil asked, and Helga huffed.

"A rather useless one, without a dragon." She muttered.

"A Dragon Knight, nonetheless. I remember a part of your training is taming a dragon, for a rider must find his half, that is your dragon, even if he has to search the whole of Arda." He said, and Helga looked at him suspiciously.

"How do you know that?"

"Oh, you were not yet born. I was still the Prince of the Greenwood when I was entitled blood-kin by your tribe." He said, revealing a faded tatoo on his left arm, concealed by the same magic he used for his face. Helga looked at him, jaw open. However, the dumbstruck expression on her facw turned into one of anger, as a sick feeling in her stomach churning her innards.

"Traitor." She seethed, and Thranduil shrugged the insult off.

"I would not apologize for shooting down your dragon."

"You know that he was my Half!" Helga exclaimed, her voice faintly reaching the dungeons and catching the Company's attention.

"He nearly burnt half of my kingdom." Thranduil explained, amd Helga took a step forward, but stopped when she found the tip of a spear resting lightly on her neck. However, as her neck tensed, the blade dug on her skin and drew just the slightest bit of blood. She stood still, looking up at Thranduil.

"Whatever it is that you want to offer; whatever you want from me, I would rather die than accept it." She seethed, and Thranduil raised a brow as he climbed up his throne

"Even if it meant finding more of your precious dragons?" He asked, and Helga felt her heart drop. Trying to control her voice, she raised her chin, and kept her eyes cold.

"The dragons are gone. Whatever's left -those that the Nazguls once tamed, they are no longer dragons. Once a dragon falls for the dark side, it will never change it's mind. And they will rot, as their souls did." She said, her voice giving out a sad tone.

"I was not talking about those dragons," Thranduil said, sitting down. "What do you know of preserving dragon eggs?"

"They are a myth," Helga said, remembering the first time tjat she heard the methods that were tested. It was rather sad, for they tried and tested various dragon eggs that all failed in the end of each test. "Freezing, petrification, my tribe has tried it all, but the dragons in the eggs died." She said and Thranduil raised his brow.

"Then why do I hear whispers about petrified dragon eggs in Ithilien?" He asked, and Helga rolled her eyes.

"Those are just rumors. It could be anything." She said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"But it is worth a look, is it not?" Thranduil encouraged, and Helga stood there, the gears in her head turning and her curiosity getting the best of her. One momemt, she was ready to rip off the woodland sprite's head, and then he mentioned 'dragons', and she was like a sixteen year old girl in her tribe again, all attentive.

"Say that the rumors are true, and the dragons are indeed peeserved. What do you plan on doing with those dragons?" She asked, and Thranduil waved his hand around.

"To protect my people, of course. If you have seen the dangers that had entered in my forest, your dragons could-"

"Cause a forest fire and destroy your kingdom," She cut off. "Believe me when I say that dragon fire and forests do not go well together." Helga said, her look annoyed at how Thranduil did not think this plan through. "And what if I do not help you? You'll execute me?" She said, raising her brow.

"On the spot," Thranduil said, nodding his head towards the guard holding the spear. "I have an executioner, I can pass the sentence, and I will bring your head to your precious Oakenshield."

Thorin.

From all the talk about dragon eggs and petrification, she forgot that her nephews and The Company were held captive in the dungeons. Damn her for being weak enough to be distracted from all of these dragon talk! Didn't a thousand years of living teach her to keep her defenses up?! And how stupid was she, letting her own selfish need for vengance to those who had done wrong to her be her priority, when there was a Company of dwarves in the dungeons, running out of time to reclaim their home. She has the higher ground here; she can discuss terms and conditions with this elf. However, if she does negotiate with the elf king, she would be selling her freedom...

But at least she would live, knowing that she helped a kingdom reclaim and restore their homeland, when she could not.

"You thought I didn't see the way he looked at you?" Thranduil said, seeing that you seemed to stop at the mention of the King's name.

"If I agree on this, I have some terms that I would like to settle." Helga said, her mind already made.

"Name it."

* * *

It had probably been a few days, and Thorin was filled with dread, for Helga hasn't come down the dungeons yet. The Company was silent for they, too, feared the worst for the woman in their Company. Everytime they heard the doors of the dungeons open, they would look up in anticipation to see if it was their Dragon Rider being escorted to one of their cells. It didn't help when they heard the guards gossip about her. Thinking about what Helga did during her last visit in the Elvenking's kingdom, she would be infamous among the elves. They weren't able to hear much, except for talks about a dragon rider and an execution, which made the Company even more silent for their fallen comrade. Thorin, most of all, for he was never able to make peace before she was taken from him.

'How cruel fate must be,' Thorin thought. 'To be imprisoned by my enemy, and to have her taken from me... The woman that I-...' The woman that he what, exactly? He doesn't know what she is to him. All that he knows is that now that she is gone from the Company -from his life, it suddenly felt rather empty and lonely. He knew that the whole Company was in the dungeons, too, but he couldn't shake off that constricting feeling in his chest, slowly eating him up from the inside. He sat on the corner of his cell, moping around or just sleeping. But even his dreams were plagued of her, and the night in the skinchanger's house.

"Aunt Helga!" Thorin was snapped out of his melancholy trance and he immediately stood up, runing towards the bars of their cell to see a mop of blonde hair walking towards his way, accompanied by two guards. The other members of the Company seemed rather awake, too. They stopped in front of his cell, and the relief that flooded in Thorin's chest was enough to make his eyes glassy. She was thrown in his cell, before the guards left the two of them.

Helga expected questions from Thorin, once she step foot in his cell, but she was rather surprised whem Thorin pulled her into his arms, hugging her as if she was gone for decades. He looked over her, not knowing what to say, now that she was here. A million thoughts ran through his mind, that he didn't know which one to say first. However, the Company beat him to it.

"Helga, how..?"

"...an execution!"

"...thought the worst..."

"...the guards!"

"... dead!"

"What?!" Helga exclaimed, looking at the others who were by their cell doors. "You thought I was executed?!"

"What happened, exactly?" Thorin asked, making everybody fall silent, as Helga turned to him. It was then, he saw the small bandage wrapped around her neck, and wondered what caused that.

"I made a deal with Thranduil," She said, holding out a hand to Thorin to stop him from his oncoming complaints. "I am to help him search for more dragons and train them, in exchange for the Company's freedom. I would still complete the quest, of course, but once it is done, I would return here and fulfill the deal." She explained

"Are you mad, lass?!" Dwalin, who was the first to speak, exclaimed, follow by the other complaints of the dwarves. Helga sighed and pinched the bridge of her noise, the noise of thw dwarves echoing through the dungeons making her jead ache.

"I will not let you stay here and be a slave to that elf." Thorin said, a dark gleam in his eyes that won't hold any arguments from her.

"And let you rot in these dungeons? Let you miss Durin's day? No, Thorin," Helga said, shaking her head. "I know what it feels like to lose a home, but the difference between us, is that I will never get it back and killing that dragon will only bring me little peace. Even though I am selling my freedom, at least I can live in peace, knowing I helped you reclaim your home." Helga said, and Thorin looked at her, astounded. Was she that selfless? She leaned on the wall, looking outside the dungeons with her arms crossed.

"When I left for Rivendell and I stayed in that cave-... I realized how lonely I was," She said, soft enough that only the both of them could hear. "It was only then that it came to me that IT was the actual last of my race. No friends, no family, and nowhere to call home. I realized that after I kill Smaug, there is nowhere for me to go. My nephews had already built their own lives without me, and my past lovers are probably long dead, or have grandchildren of their own," She looked at him, her eyes hard. "I would be damned if I would let anyone else feel such lonliness." She said, looking out again as silence fell upon them. Thorin approached her, taking her hands in his and tilting her chin upwards, observing the bandage wrapped around her neck.

"What happened here?" He asked and Helga pursed her lips in disdain.

"A spear. Stepped too close to the throne and got this as a warning." She said, and squeaked in surprised when Thorin suddenly held her in his arms, hugging her tight. She slowly placed her hands around him, feeling oddly satisfied at the contact.

"We thought you were dead." She heard Thorin rumble, and Helga smiled sadly.

"We're going to get out of here, Thorin. We're going to get your home back." She said, and Thorin pulled away from her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Our home," He said, and Helga looked at him, confused. "That is if you would want to. Erebor would have many rooms, and-"

"But my deal with Thranduil-"

"I may have a solution to that," A new voice said, and they turned to see Bilbo standing outside, a ring of keys in hand. "If Thranduil does not set you free, then the deal will not be fulfilled on his part, am I right?" He asked, and opened their cell door. "Now, are you ready to go home?"


	23. Chapter 23

To say things were bad was an understatement.

Things were going horribly wrong, and Helga knew that the only way out of this situation was to disregard any logical and calm plan, and to think of a crazy one, like what Bilbo did. She had to admit that using the barrels to escape was pure genius, but what happened after they fell into the river was a disaster. The elven horn sounded to signal their escape, and the gates of the river were shut. And to make things better, a pack of orcs ambushed them, and were making it harder for them to escape.

Helga always hated the water. It was not solid, therefore she can't fight on it, and her past drowning experiences as a child made it quite difficult for her swim, so as she floated in her own barrel, which always had the chance to tip over, she grasped its rim so tight that you'd thing that the wood was going to break under her grasp. But she needed to be strong for the Company. This was no time for her to be overcome by her childhood fears. She was cut off by Thorin shouting for his youngest nephew's name, and she looked in horror as she saw a black arrow protruding on Kili's thigh. But he managed to pull the lever that was blocking them, and Helga felt herself falling and she felt like she was suffocating as her barrel submerged and emerged from the water multiple times.

She saw flashes of the dwarves trying to fight while they were in their own barrels, and felt proud as she saw Bombur take down quite a few, destroying a barrel in the process. She looked around for her nephews and she was glad to see them still in their barrels; Amren snatching a bow from a fallen elf soldier, and Alvor throwing off an orc into one of the sharp rocks that was in the way. However, as Helga turned back, she saw an orc jumping towards her, and she heard a sickening crack before she fell from her own barrel; the last sight she saw was the Company way ahead of her as she sunk with the dead orc's body on top of hers.

Thorin sighed in relief as he learned that they had lost the orcs for the meantime. Now, their problem was getting across this blasted lake and finding a set of armor and weapons. They cannot face Smaug in just rough tunics and their pants!

"Anything behind us?" Thorin asked behind him. He counted everyone, but he felt a slight dread in his stomach that he might have missed someone.

"Not that I can see." Balin said.

"I think we've outrun the orcs!" Bofur exclaimed, but Thorin knew that it was not true. They would eventually catch up with them.

"Not for long," Thorin said. "We've lost the current."

"Bofur is half drown." Dwalin observed, and Thorin eyed the shore.

"Make for the shore! Come on, let's go!" He said, and the Company paddled to shore. Once everyone was there, he counted the members, and his eyes widened in realization.

"Where is Helga?!" He exclaimed, and everybody looked around, noticing that the blonde dragon rider was not among them. Then, they saw a dead orc floating down the stream, and they saw her body slumped on it, before she slipped and sunk into the water. Thorin dove back into the stream, and saw Helga unconscious and sinking. He grabbed her hand and threw her over his shoulder before he swam back to the surface, taking deep breaths as he made it to the shore. He placed Helga down, and the Company crowded over her, her nephews instantly beside her.

"Aunt Helga!" Amren exclaimed, gently slapping her cheek, and checking her eyelids. But after a few tries, there was no response.

"She has water in her lungs! We need to bring it out!" Oin said, and Thorin knew just what to do. He's seen Oin do this a couple times in the infirmary when they bring in drowned patients. Thorin placed a fist on her chest, pumping it a few times and then giving her air through her lips. He did it a few times, the dread in his heart at the thought of losing her this soon in the journey driving him to not give up on her. However, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Balin, looking at him with an expression that Thorin just wouldn't accept.

"Thorin," Balin said, but Thorin shook his head and continued pumping Helga's chest with determination. But Balin grabbed his hands and stopped him, shaking him and looking at him straight in the eye. "She's gone, Thorin!" Balin said, tears in his eyes, but Thorin just shook his head.

"No! She-... She can't be-" But Thorin let out a choked sob and stood up, walking away. He would not dare break down in front of his Company; not in this hour of need. The Company was silent, and the only other sounds were the river flowing and the sobs of the youngest Skyrunner. Even Alvor, who recently had a new-found respect for his aunt, was silent.

What broke their moment of mourning was a cough, and the Company turned to Helga to see her coughing violently. She started coughing out a terrible amount of water, and she turned to her side. The Company let out sighs and cheers of relief as she coughed out the water in her lungs and breathed in ragged breaths. Amren was the first to hug her tightly, and she gave back a rather weak one. Helga looked dumbfounded, but what would you expect from a woman who came back from the dead? Her nephew's tight hug brought her back to reality, and she smiled weakly.

"I thought I lost you again." Amren sighed in relief, and Helga patted her nephew's back.

"You're not going to lose me again, Ren." Helga croaked out and smiled.

"For Mahal's sake, give her some space!" Thorin exclaimed, and noticed how Kili, instead of standing with the Company, was sitting on a rock and nursing his wounded leg. "Oin, tend to Kili." He commanded, and everybody dispersed, leaving Helga and Thorin alone.

"So…" Helga said as Thorin looked at her, his eyes unreadable. However, she didn't need to because he hugged her and buried his nose in her hair.

"Do not do that to me again, you understand?!" Thorin said, and Helga smiled as she hugged Thorin back, willing her tears to stop. It wasn't because of his words to her, but she thought that she could get over the memory of drowning. She thought that she had overcome that fear, but apparently, she hasn't. Thorin noticed her sobbing, and looked over her in confusion.

"What is wrong?" He asked, and Helga's shoulders slumped and she covered her face with her two hands, trying to hide from the eyes of the dwarven king.

"I-It's n-nothing." She hiccupped, but Thorin wasn't convinced.

"Helga, tell me what is the matter." He said, sitting her down and she ran her hands through her hair as a nervous habit.

"I-It's drowning… I-I… Can't…" She said through hiccups, and that was when it struck Thorin.

"You're afraid of the water." He stated, and Helga nodded, keeping her head bowed down. He tilted her head to face him, and she looked at him with red rimmed eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. I know that it's stupid, and that given my age, I-I shouldn't be, but I just-… I really can't swim…" Helga explained, and she avoided his eyes. But before any of them could say anything else, they heard the stretch of a bowstring. They all froze when they saw a man with a bow and an arrow pointed at them.

"Move away from the woman right now." The man said. They all froze and slowly stood up, including Helga, who tried to stop the man.

"Please, no! The haven't done anything wrong!" Helga said, going near him. "Please, we need your help." Helga begged, and the man lowered his bow and looked at the suspicious dwarves.

"Excuse me, but, uh, you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken?" Balin asked, a twinkle in his eye. " That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?"

* * *

Helga was a seasoned warrior from her Dragon Knight training. She has been turned into a strong woman who is able to climb over mountains, jump over creeks, and make the largest of enemies fall. That is why she signed up for the Company. The faster they can travel without any trouble, the faster they can get to Smaug. She signed up for crossing countries, and fighting orcs, but she didn't remember signing up for appearing in some stranger's toilet. She shivered in disgust as she was helped out by the dwarves when they came out of Bard's toilet.

They were lead to a living room, and they were given fresh towels and dry clothes. Helga, who refused to wear a dress, borrowed Bard's trousers and shirt. As she stood by the arguing group of dwarves, she saw his two girls for over there, staring at her with a hint of fear in their eyes. Of course! A company od dwarves and a woman pops out of their toilet -who wouldn't be scared of that? But probably, it was from the booming voices of the dwarves and here hardened stare that made them shrink.

Bard, who was waiting for the dwarves, approached her.

"If I may ask, what is a woman doing with a company of Dwarves?" Bard asked, as the dwarves argued. Helga looked at the Company who she soon learned to love, and smiled fondly.

"It might be strange and hard to believe, but they are good people." She started, and her eyes fell on Thorin. "They're misunderstood. People think of dwarves as stone faced creatures who just hide away under their mountains and mines. But they are also merry people who values each and every one of them and that makes them strong." Helga said, and she looked back at her nephews, who were talking to Bard's children.

"You are the leader's lover, are you not?" He asked, and Helga smiled and shook her head.

"I would not call myself that. We have become friends, yes, but I do not think 'lover' is the proper name for me." She smiled sadly. Suddenly, Bard's attention was called by the dwarves, who were demanding the weapons that they paid for.

Helga's head started to throb as the dwarves let out an outraged yell from the 'weapons' presented to them. Sometimes, they were just too damn picky.

"Just get them and go, alright?!" Helga exclaimed.

"We paid for weapons! Iron-forged and axes!" Gloin exclaimed.

"It's a joke!" Bofur followed.

"I had to make do with less! If this is what you have, then learn to make do, because the longer we sit here and argue, the lesser time we have left." Helga exclaimed, and all of them fell silent.

"Thorin, why not take what's been offered and go? I've made do with less; so have you. I say we leave now." Balin said, nodding. However, Bard stepped in.

"You're not going anywhere."

Yes... Things were definitely looking up for Helga Skyrunner.

* * *

But, as many would have figured out by now, the dwarven race is a very stubborn race. Despite Bard's warning of spies and Helga's gut feeling that they should follow him, they still left for the city's armory...

And that was how they ended up in front of the town hall, with a crowd surrounding them and the Master of the town looking down on them. Helga, who had her hands held by a guard, felt his hand slipping towards her backside. Enraged, she stepped on his foot and slammed her head on his.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" She exclaimed. Thorin and the others were about to rush to her, when they saw her beating the poor guard up with her foot. That was until she was man handled by a group of city guards and was restrained.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Master asked.

"We caught 'em stealing weapons, sire." The greasy man next to the Master spoke.

"And this woman?"

"She was with 'em, sire."

"Ah. Enemies of the state, then." The Master declared.

"This is a bunch of mercenaries if ever there was, sire." The man spat, and Helga saw the look of anger onbthe dwarves' face.

"Hold your tongue. You do not know to whom you speak," Dwalin spoke. "This is no common criminal; this is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror!" Thorin, ever the royalty that he was, stepped up and the crowd murmured in amazement. Helga, who was standing at the back with her nephews, only realized how dangerouns he looked like with the light of a fire.

"We are the dwarves of Erebor," Thorin said, and he looked at Helga and nodded. "And with us, the last of the race of Dragon Riders." Helga stood there, shocked about what he said. Do they even remember the Dragon Riders? By now, they will be a lost tale to the race of Men. "We have come to reclaim and avenge our homeland. I remember this town and the great days of old. Fleets of boats lay at harbor, filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the center of all trade in the North. I would see those days return. I would relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor!"

Everyone cheered at his speech, and Helga would, too, if her hands were not bound by a rope. However, Bard strides forward, and exclaimed.

"Death! That is what you will bring upon us. Dragon-fire and ruin," Bard looked at Helga. "Have you nod done it once in Dale?" He asked, and Helga steeled her gaze and just glared back at him. Apparently, one of them remembers."If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all." Bard told Thorin.

"You can listen to this naysayer, but I promise you this; If we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain. You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!" Thorin promised, and the crowd cheered. However, Helga noticed the odd smile forming on the Master's face, along with his greasy steward, and she did not like it.

"All of you! Listen to me! You must listen! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?! Would you trust a Company with a Dragon Rider? They are the very race that caused Smaug's coming!" Bard exclaimed, and the crowd fell silent. "Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm?! And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain-king so riven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!"

"It is not only you who has suffered a great loss from Smaug!" Alvor exclaimed. Helga's brow raised at this. Alvor has never been a chatty child -that was Amren's role. Alvor was much darker and more quiet than his brother. "We have suffered the loss of our family -of our whole race! So don't you dare think that we wanted this to happen!"

"Now, now, we must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame. Let us not forget that it was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!" The Master said, and Helga rolled her eyes.

This was getting nowhere.

"It's true, sire. We all know the story: arrow after arrow he shot, each one missing its mark." His steward supported, and Helga sighed as the crowd yelled at Bard. Crowds were so stupid and gullible.

"You have no right, no right to enter that mountain." Bard said. But the look on Thorin's face said everything.

"I have the only right." He said, and he faced the Master. I speak to the Master of the men of the Lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people? What say you?" But as Helga observed from the whole display of the blame-game, she knew that Thorin had the Master on a leashe as soon as he mentioned the word "gold".

"I say unto you...welcome! Welcome and thrice welcome, King under the Mountain!" The Master exclaimed, and the crowd cheers. They were all immediately released and the Company was brought in the City Hall. However, Helga did not bother to go straight ahead, but searched through the crowd for Bard.

"Bard!" She exclaimed, as she saw him in the crowd. He stopped and turned to her, a hard look on his face.

"I welcomed you to my home. Gave you clothes, gave you shelter, and this is how you repay me?" Bard asked, and Helga felt her heart break.

"I really am sorry." She said, and he shook his head and left.

* * *

 **I LIIIIIIIIIVEEEEE! XD**

 **Again, I am so sorry about the long wait, my dear readers! I was very busy with my requirements for my scholarship & SHS applications in different school... Plus I had an entrance exam just last Sunday XD But don't you worry, my children! I will be posting two chapters today! **

**Yay!**

 **But, besides that, I've also kinda lost the will to write for the past few weeks because of the recent happenings in our country. If you haven't heard, our president just doesn't know how to control what he's saying, and seeing dead innocent people every single night and day in the news kinda takes a toll on you, especially if you're passionate about justice and all that jazz.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy the next chapter! :D Please tell me what you think about these chapters!**

 **~Gabrielle**


	24. Chapter 24

Helga was astonished at the party Men could hold in a short span of time. It looked like it was prepared for weeks, and men and women in different attires were dancing with the music.

She stood by the entrance and leaned on the door frame, smiling at the merriment. The dwarves were obviously enjoying theirselves with the barrels of ale. Alvor was sitting quietly on a corner with his own mug in hand, while his brother was being dragged by a group of women towards the dance floor, pushing him to a brunette standing there.

Across the room, she met the eyes of a dwarf king, who was sitting at the long table. Although his ear was near the Master's blabbering mouth, his eyes were just trained on the blonde woman across the room, a smile on his face. However, their short moment was cut off by a dancing dwarf with a silly hat.

"My good ol' dancing partner!" He exclaimed, grabbing Helga's hands and dragging her to the dance floor. Helga just laughed and twirled around with the music, dancing along with Bofur and the music. She was shifted to partner to partner, skipping and hopping along with the fiddles and flutes,until she saw her brooding nephew on the corner. She smiled and made her way towards him, pulling him towards her.

"Oh-... I don't dance." He said, trying to pull back.

But Helga was stronger.

"Then learn to! It's one of the essentials of life!" Helga exclaimed through the noise and she taught him the basic steps. Soon enough, she and Alvor were dancing and twirling around on the dance floor. She never saw him smile as he did, and her hear ached in guilt. She would have seen him smile more if she did not leave him. When she tired of dancing, she gave her nephew's hand to one of the giggling girls on the dance floor. She smiled as she saw her oldest nephew stumbling around and the girl he was with was giggling and blushing throughout the dance.

Shaking her head, she went to the table where the dwarves were to grab a mug of ale. There, she saw Amren sitting on a bench in between Dwalin and Gloin. They both were slightly tipsy, and they seemed to be urging Helga's nephew to drink whatever was in the mug.

"You mean you've never had ale before? In your life?!" Dwalin asked, his mouth open in a huge smile and Amren shook his jead as he took a whiff of the amber liquid.

"What have you been drinking then during your stay with the elves?" Gloin asked.

"Elves are more accustomed to wine than ale. As you can see, they have a more elegant nature. And they have this special brew that fits their endurance for alcohol." Amren said, and Gloin scoffed and pointed at the mug Amren held.

"Well, try this. This is the drink of warriors and brave mem!" Gloin urged, obviously more tipsy than his brother. Amren sighed as he looked at his mug and shrugged. What the hell was there to lose? He only tipped the mug once and downed it's content. Once the mug was empty, Amren smirked, his face challenging, and looked at both dwarves.

"I've had stronger brews," He said, and the dwarbes raised their brows, as if they were insulted. "This is a drink of young lads." Amren said, and Dwalin and Gloim scoffed.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" Gloin asked, and Dwalin looked at the other dwarf with a knowing look.

"I think it is," He said, now looking at Gloin and at the young healer. "What do you say? Last man standing?" He asked, and the three men went to where the barrels of ale were to hold their drinking contest.

Helga spotted a mane of blonde hair sitting alone and holding his own mug of ale. Fili seemed to be in deep thought, and she knew exactly why. Making her way towards him, she sat down beside the crowned prince.

"How is your brother doing?" She asked, and Fili smiled. Although it was not his usual bright smile, but a rather sad one.

"Kee's holding up. He's upstairs and resting." He said, and Helga patted Fili's shoulder.

"You already know this, but as young as your brother may be, he has a strong spirit. And people with strong spirits tend to live longer than their parents or grandparents ever did, no matter what sickness or injury they may acquire." Helga said, and Fili smiled at her words.

"You must have a strong spirit, then." He said. Despite his intention of saying that being good, Helga felt a pinch in her heart and the mention of outliving her parents amd grandparents. They would have lived longer, if not for Smaug.

"I am afraid you are wrong there," Helga said, smiling solemnly at Fili. "I am but a weak spirit, trying myself that I am stromg, and failing miserably at doing so," She sighed and shook the heaviness in her heart away and smiled at Fili. "Do not worry about your brother. He will live. I have no doubt about that." She said, standing up and leaving. Looking back at the scene before her, she looked at how merry the Company was, and smiled. They needed this to lift their spirits, for danger was getting close, and the fear that not all of them will make it out alive was closer to their hearts.

* * *

The smell of burning wood and flesh filled Helga's senses as she closed her eyes. She was kneeling on the ground, the clutching at the cold soil in her hands and trying to pull herself together. She closed her eyes again as the sound of crying children reached her ears, tears streaming down her face. When the wave of flames hit the hut filled with children, her knees suddenly felt weak and she knelt to the ground, feeling sick to her stomach. There was the sound of cracking wood, followed by the screams of children, begging for help, then silence. She couldn't take it anymore and let out a loud sob.

It was not shameful for a Dragon Knight to cry for the dead, especially if the deceased were innocent children. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she leaned into the familiar chest of her fiancè.

"Helga," He whispered to her ear. But she knows that he was feeling the same thing she felt. "Helga, we have to get up," He said, kissing the top of her head. "Smaug has not yet hit the outskirts yet. Your family might still be alive." He urged, and she opened her eyes to look at Daario, who had determination written all over his face. But Helga knew that deep down, his heart was deeply mourning for the children. That was why he was given the position of Legion Commander. Focused during the time of need, but compassionate at the same time.

And that was why Helga accepted his proposal to marry her.

He helped her up and they two of them rode their dragons and flew to the outskirts of the Dragon Riders' territory. He was wright when he said that Smaug has not attacked the area yet. They landed a few meters away from Helga's home, and as she ran toward it, she saw her mother and father run out of the house. But the momemt they stepped foot on the grass, a wave of fire fell upon them, and Helga let out a scream.

"MA!" She ran towards the burning house, tears falling down her face as she screamed for her parents. When she got there, she took off her leather coat and covered her mother and father's burning bodies to put the fire out. When the fire was gone, she was hoping that they had suffered only burns and that the flames did not reach the major organs. But their bodies were weak, and even if it was only their skin that got burnt, the pain would be excruciating enough that their bodies will not be able to stand it. So Helga knelt there, pulling the burnt corpses of their parents close to her as she sobbed, unable to form a proper sentence as Daario knelt behind her.

"They-... Da-ario... Th-They're-...No-... They-... No!" She sobbed and rocked back and forth, unable to cope with the great sorrow she was feeling at the moment. Daario just wrapped his arms around her and wept with her. With this, he cannot find the words to tell Helga that everything will be alright.

Helga wept for what felt like hours, and she noticed two things. One, the arms that were wrapped around her was gone and Daario disappeared. And two, her parents' bodies were gone. Confused, she looked around for a sign of them, but her eyes landed on a something in front of her. She gasped as she laid here eyes upon a great gold and white dragon, a golden glow radiating from his very being. She knew what this dragon meant. The elders in the tribe used to say that if you saw this dragon, it was a great diety visiting your dreams. And this diety was no other than...

"Bathala." You gasped, and Bathala just looked at you, and you heard a voice in your head. The voice you've heard back in Mirkwood.

"Soon."

* * *

Helga woke up in a cold sweat and panting. She noticed that her tears were wet with tears and she sighed. Wiping her wet cheeks dry, she put on a robe and made her way to the balcony on the main holding room to get some fresh air. She often had these kinds of dreams, except this one was more graphic, and the first time that Bathala visited her. As she leaned on the railing overlooking the lake, she felt a presence behind her. She turned and looked at a wide eyed Thorin, who loked like he was caught.

"I did not know that you were here. If I am disturbing you, I may go," Thorin said, and she shook her head no, and he went beside Helga and lit his pipe. He stayed at a respectable distance, and the both of them stayed in a comfortable silence, lost in their own thoughts. He was the first to speak after a long silence. "Nightmares?" He asked after a few puffs of smoke. Helga nodded and said nothing, still looking into the distance.

"It wasy parents," She said, wrapping her arms around herself. "I dreamed about the moment of their deaths... And that is the worst nightmare I get." She said, and Thorin removed his pipe from his mouth and offered it to Helga. They looked at each other for a while, with their own expressions. Helga was caught in surprise while Thorin was quite unsure if he did the right move. He did not know how to comfort a lady through words, but what he did know was smoking always settled his nerves after a nightmare. He suddenly felt like an idiot. He didn't even know if she smoked! He only knew a few womem who smoked, and even they smoked in very rare occasions.

Helga gave him a small smile and took the pipe, to his surprise, and inhaled deeply through the mouthpiece, holding her breath, and releasing a puff of smoke before handing it back to Thorin. They stood once more in silence, but it was slightly awkward. While Helga thought about her dream, Thorin was thinking about where the two of them stood in their odd relationship. He did not know what to call them, and he was getting frustrated. Yes, they kissed a few times, but people sometimes kiss each other and they do not mean anything by it. However, he remembered how he felt back in Mirkwood. He remembered the dread that he felt at the pit of his stomach when he thought that he will never see Helga once more, and how that dread amplified when he did not find Helga in her own barrel. He thought that she died, and the panic and dread he felt on that moment could on be measured. The silence contuniued until Thorin broke the silence.

"You still haven't answered my question back in Mirkwood." He said, and Helga looked at him.

"What question?" She asked.

"After all of this is done -once we've slayed Smaug and restored Erebor, will you come live with us? You and your nephews could stay there, too, if you'd like." He asked, and Helga felt herself smile a little as he came closer and held her hand in his. "You don't have to be alone anymore."

"And what would I be in your kingdom? We would be considered as outcasts by your people." She said and Thorin held her face in his hand.

"You will be staying with us, no matter what... You have been alone for too long, and I would be damned if I will let you go that easy. Not after everything you've done for me." He said, and Helga felt her eyes water. Nearly a thousand years old, and she has been waiting and wanting for someone to say that to her. It might be the lonliness she felt or the sorrow from her nightmare, but she wanted to feel better. And she only felt better when she was around Thorin. Ignoring as to why she did it, she pulled him to her and pressed her lips to his.

Her eyes were shut as he pulled her closer to him. With him, she forgot everything that was about to happen. She forgot about Smaug, about being the last of her kind, her nightmare and everything else. With him, he was all that mattered to her. As her tongue touched his upper lip, he shut his eyes and forced himself away from her, resting his head in his hands and leaning on the railings.

"Mahal, woman, what are you doing to me?" Helga smiled as she took his pipe, which was now forgotten by it's owner. She needed to calm the blood that rushed through her veins from that kiss.

Thorin's patience was hanging by a thread as he watched her smoke.

The both of them spent the night smoking and kissing, just being there for each other's sorrows by losing theirselves in each other. One would think that they are a couple, and soon enough, out of desperation for comfort, they found themselves stumbling into Thorin's bedroom, where Thorin realized that he will forever be bound and doomed to the beautiful Dragon Rider thag ensnared his heart.

* * *

It was early in the morning before dawn, and the King and the Last Dragon Rider laid on his bed, sheets tangled between their limbs. Thorin smiled contently as he traced lazy circles on Helga's bare shoulder blades. Supporting his head with his arm, he smiled as he watched Helga's face. She looked even more beautiful when she was sleeping; serene and young, not the ageing warrior that she is now... the nomad. He scooted a bit closer to her, his hand going through her hair, spotting those few grey streaks that she was talking about back in Beorn's house. His hand wandered down to her lower back and let it rest there. Besides her face and her other womanly parts, her back has to be one of Thorin's favorite parts of her body. From the numbers of scars on her body, her back is the only one, beside her face, that doesn't have a scar.

"Can't keep your hands to yourself, my king?" Helga murmured, her eyes still closed, although she was smiling.

"It's impossible, when the most beautiful woman in Arda is lying on my bed." He said, and he smirked as he saw Helga smile.

"You should be sleeping," She said, snuggling closer to Thorin and resting on her other side. The two of them were spooning, with Helga holding his hand to her chest and with him giving feather light kisses on her shoulder blades. "A long day ahead of us..." Helga murmured sleepily. "I remember when you told me that you never wanted to see my bare back."

"I have said a lot of things before." Thorin said, his kisses went up her neck. He shifted and hovered over her, wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her closer, and the other one, he used as support. When his hands travelled to the side of her ribs, she giggled, slightly pushing Thorin away.

"Careful!" She said, laughing as she pushed Thorin on his back, who wrapped her hands around her shoulders. She wrapped her leg around his and laid her head on him, both of their hands rests on top of his chest. They just laid there in comfotable silence, lost in their thoughts and feelings in the small inn room, as if the whole of time and space was frozen. Thorin closed his eyes and smiled, nuzzling Helga's hair.

"Men lananubukhs menu."

He felt her freeze, and he thought that maybe it was a bit too early to say that. He felt his palms start to sweat as she looked up at her with unreadable eyes. Helga, despite the limited knowledge that she had on Khuzdul, knew exactly what that phrase meant.

"Do you really mean that?" She asked, and Thorin closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers.

"I do." He said, gently squeezing her hand in his. She smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. From the window in their room, they could see the sun starting to peek from the horizon. The both of them sighed sadly, and Thorin made a move to rise. However, Helga pushed him down and looked up at him.

"Let's not go back," Helga said, resting her head back on his shoulder. "Let's stay here a while longer... I don't ever want to leave this room, Thorin," With what lies ahead today, Helga didn't feel like getting up nor leaving this room. She thought she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life; exact revenge on Smaug for killing her whole race, either severe or mend the relationship between her nephews if ever she didn't die trying, and hide from the rest of the world. That was what she had planned to do for the rest of her life. However, meeting Thorin, this pompous dwarf king, made Helga realize how much more she wanted to do with her life. She realized how she was so lonely and being with him drove that feeling away. She wanted to travel, truly appreciate Middle Earth, and not in search for a damned dragon. She wanted to settle down, know what it feels like to have a family of her own. She wanted to actually learn how to cook, how to treat others... how to differentiate herbs, for Valar's sake! Let all the nay sayers and future councilors be damned! She wanted to do with the dwarf king who just told her that he loved her. "Not ever." Helga said, sighing contently and closing her eyes. That night was the best night in the lives of the King Under the Mountain and the Dragon Rider and neither of them realize that it would be their last.

* * *

Hahahaaa... Soooo... I can't write smut XD Sarreh... But if you guys know how to, and you guys want to, be my guest! XD Just PM me if you're planning to :P

Anyways, please leave a review! :)

~Gabrielle


	25. Chapter 25

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

Before reading on, I beg you guys to READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER AGAIN. I made changes because I was not satisfied with the first version of it. I wanted Helga to be this strong character, but it is so obvious that she is crumbling down like a sand castle on a high tide deep down inside, and the previous chapter did not show that at all. So I rewrote it and showed exactly that character: a strong, yet weak woman who needed the comfort that a certain dwarf king could give. Apparently, there still is no smut in there, so sorry to disappoint.

Anyways, I'm gonna stop rambling now so you guys may go on with the story.

Thank you for taking your time to read this!

* * *

Unfortunately, the both of them had to get up and leave the small world they've created in that room, and face the dreadful reality that now awaited them. Ironically, despite getting to know each other's bodies rather well last night, when morning came, neither found a word to say to each other after the king's confession. They both just silently stood up and wore their clothes before Helga left and sneaked back to her room. Although they do not know it yet, the both of them are contemplating as to why they are acting this way, despite what they know they feel about each other deep down in their hearts. As Helga stepped her foot outside his door, they were now what they once were; a king and a dragon knight.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

By the time the Company were making sure their boats were ready to use, no one even suspected that something happened between them last night. They went on to their usual business until Thorin's voice caught her attention.

"Not you. We must travel with speed, you will slow us down." Helga turned to look at the exchange between the two, and she frowned as she saw the pinch of hurt in Kili's eyes.

"What are you talking about? I'm coming with you." Kili said, but Thorin held him back once more.

"No." As Fili seemed to notice this, too, Helga felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Ma," She turned to see Amren looking at her. "Oin and I checked on Kili's wounds last night." Helga was supposed to ask how on Arda they managed to do that, when they seemed to drink a whole barrel of ale. But based on the serious tone on her nephew's voice, she decided to joke around later.

"How bad is it?" Helga asked, and Amren sighed.

"His wound seems to have some sort of infection. I've never seen anything like it before, and I'm afraid this has gone beyond the range of regular medical attention. He needs elven medicine." He said, and Helga sighed.

"Is there nothing we can do to at least slow down the infection?" Helga asked, and Amren thought for a while.

"Some Athelas might help, but I am not sure where to find one around these parts." Amren said, and Helga looked at Amren.

"Amren, I need you and Alvor to stay with Kili," Helga said, and Amren seemed to protest on this, but Helga cut him off. "You are the closest that he has to an elven healer. And it will be far safer for you to stay away from the mountain -away from Smaug." She explained.

"But what about you?" Alvor asked, coming up behind his brother. "You expect us to leave you at the hands of Smaug to be killed?"

"You expect me to hand to him what's left of my family on a silver platter?" She countered, and this seemed to shut him up. "He has not grown as weak from the years he has hid in that mountain." Helga said, but Amren and Alvor did not budge.

"If so, then would you not need more men?" Alvor argued, but Helga let out a frustrated sigh and tooke the both of them by their shoulders.

"I can't lose the both of you again!" She exclaimed, gathering a few curious ears from the Company and from the crowd. She shut her eyes and pulled both of them into her tight embrace. "I know that I may die and I know that I am leaving the both of you as I did many years ago, but I must, even if it pains my heart to do so," She said, her voice starting to shake as she did. "You boys are the only family I have left, and it will bring me at least a bit peace in my heart to know that the one thing I did right was to leave you here in Laketown so the both of you can stay alive." She said, and Helga felt two pairs of arms embrace her, too. She shut her eyes, and let a few tears loose, before she reached up and kissed both of her nephews on the forehead.

"I love you both so much. Don't you ever forget that," She said, before pulling away to look at them in the eye. "Take care of Kili, and each other." She said, before letting go and climbing on to the boat. But before the boat was pushed off from the shore, she felt someone take her hand. She turned around to see Alvor holding her hand.

"Promise us that you will come back for us this time." Alvor said, and Helga smiled and gripped Alvor's hand in a way sword brothers or comrades will.

"I promise." Helga said, and Alvor knew that she meant it this time. So, from what little he knew left from his knowledge of Dragon Riders, he did the one thing that he knew will mean a lot to Helga. Still holding her hand, he pressed the back of her fingers to his forehead, letting it linger for a while, before releasing them and nodding to a bewildered Helga. She was so stunned that she did not notice the boat leaving.

"What was that about, lass?" Dwalin, who saw the whole exchange, asked.

"That was the _manoh_ , a gesture of great respect for our people." She said, and Dwalin chuckled.

"After all he did, the moment my fingers touch his forehead, I'll make sure to follow it with a punch." He joked, and the members of the Company chuckled at that. However, Helga did not seem to notice, as she was still dumbstruck from the fact that Alvor has now forgiven her... and respected her.

* * *

Helga continued to row at the front of the second boat, heading towards the direction of Erebor. As she did, she cannot help but notice the clench in her chest that travelled all the way to the pit of her stomach as she saw Thorin standing at the front of the first boat, being the the proud and majestic dwarf that he is.

Because that is how a king should be like.

Helga felt another pinch in her chest, but this time, it seemed to knock the air out of her the way a punch to the gut would. Helga only realized it now... He was a king. Whatever actions they did ever since that kiss in Beorn's house was pure stupidity! What on Arda was she thinking?! He was not some regular lad who she can have a fling with! Any form of relationship with him must be taken seriously! And what must the Company think, with them seeing his little act on the river! Valar, they must think of her as some stupid girl who latches on to the first man who gives her the eye! She suddey felt shy and looked down, her rowing not as strong as it used to be.

"Lass, are you alright?" Dori asked from behind her, and she nodded and hummed in agreement, catching up with her previous pace. She could not allow whatever it was between them to happen. It might have been the spur of the moment, but Helga was sure of one thing. What she and Thorin has will not last forever. As they near the mountain, they near the end of his quest. Her own quest will be done the moment that accursed dragon's heart stops beating, and so does his. At that last heart beat from the demon spawn of a creature, whatever they have will be gone. He will become king, and she will just be...

What will become of her once all of this was over?

She has no home, no other family, not even someone she loves, other than her nephews. A small voice inside her told her to just accept Thorin's offer to live in the mountain. But she knew better than to trouble him with her presence there. He will be expected to rule the mountain that he has worked hard to reclaim, and she will eventually leave -either because the dwarves will spurn her for her race, or Thorin will be forced to marry a pure-blooded dwarrowdam, have heirs to his throne, and she will be looked down upon as a consort. Either way, the moment this journey ends, they stand at a fork in the path, and neither of them can take the same way.

It is the inevitable, heartbreaking truth, and all Helga can do is savor the present while she can and steel herself for the end to come.

When they reached the land, they made haste to travel straight to Erebor. As they did, they saw the desolation that Smaug had left , and Helga felt her hand clench on the handle of Blackfyre. As they passed by the barren wastelands, she felt a cold sensation gripping in her heart that she could not shake of.

She was snapped back to reality when Balin held the hand that was clutching Blackfyre with a vice like grip. She noticed that she was not the only one that was seething with silent rage. It might be because majority of the younger ones were left behind, but the Company was silent as they trekked towards Erebor. "Are you alright, lassie? You've been silent as the grave since we left Laketown," He said. Helga knew that he was just trying to keep her spirits up, but she knew that he was feeling at least a degree of sorrow from the memories that are coming back to him. "If you frown any longer, you'll end up looking as old as Thorin." He said, and Helga let out a small smile at that. However, it turned into a sad one as she voiced out the exact thoughts as to why she felt angry at seeing the sight.

"I remember my home," She said, and at that, the Company seemed to pay attention to her every word, for Helga rarely spoke about her home. "Not how the houses blazed with fire or the screams of the children... It was the aftermath." She said, and Balin seemed to grow silent and sullen at that.

"A few months after I left Rivendell, I went straight back home," Helga started, letting out her grief through the steps she took. "I felt unsettled about how my people did not get the funeral they deserved. A Dragon Rider's corpse is supposed to be burnt in a funeral pyre and it's ashes should be scattered on top of a mountain, in the middle of a sea, or sometimes, while flying. So that no magic can bring us back from the dead and that we will be free even in the Spirit Realm. I cannot fathom the thought of just letting the half burnt corpses of my people lie in fields and forests, exposed. So I went back to what used to be my home, and what I saw was simillar to this. The land that used to be green with pastures and wild flowers now degrades into barren lands, the air that used to be so warm, now cold. I was not able to fulfill the part where I had to spread the ashes, for I had no dragon to help me reach high places that high with the ashes of a hundred people. So I spent a fortnight just digging the ground for the graves of my people. I barely ate nor slept and dug their graves with blood, sweat and tears. I had to pour oil on over hundreds of corpses and burn them until they were ash, and bury all of them. I burried my grandmothers, my grandfathers, my parents, friends, my betrothed -everyone I ever knew and ever loved. I had to do it to know that I did at least one right thing." She said, her eyes now with unshed tears of rage and sorrow. The whole Company now stopped in their tracks as they overlooked the ruin that Smaug had left while listening to Helga's tale. As she stopped, they looked at her with pity, and a new found admiration for her. Gloin, surprisingly, was the first to speak up.

"It was not your fault, lass..." He said, Dwalin nodded.

"Aye. You can't blame yourself for something that cannot be stopped." He said, and Helga looked at them and nodded. It was a small gesture, but to the three of them, it held great meaning. Helga sniffed and treaded on.

"Then why on Arda are we standing here?" Helga said, her spirits suddenly lifted, and so does everyone's. "The longer we stand here, the more that snake inside that mountain of yours grows stronger! Let's get a move on and kill that bastard!" Helga exclaimed, and the Company cheered, moving on. As she looked up, she saw Thorin looking at her, the same new-found admiration in his eyes. She just smiled and nodded to him, before treading on along with the Company.

* * *

Helga thanked the Valar for the Hobbit and his keen senses. If not for him, then they would not have seen the way to the secret entrance. Climbing it, however, was a menace. They agreed that Thorin should go first, just in case that all of them do not make it in time. But fortunately, after nearly 2 hours of leaping, hanging, and nearly falling to their deaths, they managed to reach the top, where the secret entrance lay. Helga smiled when she saw the joy and pride in Thorin's face as held up the key to the hidden door.

"Let all those who doubted us rue this day!" He exclaimed, and the Company cheered for it. Dwalin walked up to the wall of stone, and started to touch various parts of the wall.

"Right. We have our key, which means that somewhere, there is a keyhole." He said, and Helga rolled her eyes. Leave it to the dwarves to state the obvious. 'If there's a key, there's a door!' or 'if there's a key, there is a keyhole!'. But as the dwarves searched for the keyhole, Helga felt something stir at the pit of her stomach.

Fear.

She was so close to Smaug -just outside his doorstep. She will not be surprised if he could sense that she was here. Nothing like a scent of a Dragon Rider to rile up a corrupted dragon. Everything felt so surreal, all of the sudden. As she stared into space, all the anger, hatred, and vengeance started to course through her veins and she started to grip the handle of Blackfyre. She will have her vengeance.

She can almost taste it's sweetness.

Helga snapped out of her daze when she heard Thorin exclaim.

"Break it down!" She watched as the dwarves brought down their axes with all their might down om the stone wall, an act of desperation. But it was no use, for their iron forged weapons broke down like brittle biscuits in a royal's tea party.

"It's no good! The door's sealed. It can't be opened by force. Powerful magic on it." Balin said, and Helga's heart broke as she saw the disappointed looks on the Company's face.

"No," Thorin insisted as he reached for the map and read the moon runes out loud. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole. That's what it says," He looked so confused and so heartbroken as he looked at Balin. "What did we miss, Balin?" He asked, and Balin sighed disappointedly.

"We've lost the light. There's no more to be done. We had but one chance." He said, and the dwarves bowed their heads in despair. "Come away; it's...it's over."

"Wait a minute!" Bilbo exclaimed, and Helga's brows furrowed in disappointment -not at the wasted opportunity, but at the dwarves

Just like that?!

"Thorin...you can't give up now." Bilbo said, and Helga saw Thorin drop the key and retreat with the dwarves. She huffed and looked at Bilbo.

"Stay here and figure things out. I will talk to them." She said, and Bilbo nodded. Helga followed the dwarves and stopped to look at them. They were such a stubborn race, never backing out of their troubles, and now, just because they can't find a hole, they're giving up the chance of getting bsck their home?

"Bullshit!" She exclaimed, and the Company stopped and turned to her. Some looked at her with anger, some in confusion, and some did not mind, still disappointed with the current events.

"Helga, not now." Thorin said, looking like he was not in the mood for a tongue lashing. Helga knew this, but a good tongue lashing is what they all need.

"How dare you give up? How dare you throw away the chance getting back your home?!" She exclaimed, making all of the dwarves look at her. "If this was my home," She said, pointing back at the secret entrance. "If I was standing at the doorstep of my own home, no dragon nor hidden entrance would stop me from taking it back."

"Easy for you to say, lass." Gloin grumbled, and Helga glared daggers at him.

"Aye, easy for me to say because I've lost my whole race," She said, and she stared hard at the dwarves. At the moment, she felt like a mother scolding her children. She would have laughed at this, but maybe in another time. "And the only time that you will know one thing's worth is when you've lost it." She said, her throat constricting. "So I say this to you now. Either you go back down and forget about ever setting out on this quest and grow up as old dwarves who never knew this place's worth... or you wipe those stupid frowns and tears off your faces and end this quest the way it's supposed to end -bathing in triumph over Smaug's blood and with this kingdom's former glory restored!" She exclaimed. When she looked at the Company, she saw them all looking back at her. Not with anger nor disappointment, but a new found determination in their eyes. She saw Thorin walk up to her with an unreadable expression, and she swallowed the lump in her throat, looking at him straight in the eye.

"I know I signed no contract, and swore no oath then, but now, I shall swear that I will make sure that your home is restored as it was once, Thorin Oakenshield." She said with all seriousness. She was surprised, however when Thorin pulled her into his arms in front of the Company. Unsure of what to do, she closed her arms around him. Not because of common courtesy or for show, but because it felt right. Thorin pressed his lips on Helga's temple, and smiled to her skin.

"Thank you, Helga." He said, and Helga smirked and playfully shoved him off of her.

"You should be thankful! I thought I had to march into the mountain myself!" She exclaimed, and Thorin looked at the Company, unaware that he still held her hand.

"I know that this may seem hopeless, but will you follow me once more? What say you?" He asked, and the Company smiled at him, followed by a series of 'aye's . Thorin looked back at Helga, as if he were about to say something, if the hobbit's voice did not cut his train of thought.

"The keyhole! Come back! Come back! It's the light of the moon, the last moon of autumn! Ha ha ha!" They heard the hobbit exclaim. Helga smiled at the look of shock on Thorin's face. It seems that the hobbit never ceased to amaze Thorin. Helga let Thorin go as he raced off back to the hidden entrance. She looked back to see the Company with the same looks on their faces.

"What on Arda are you all standing there for? Bilbo found the entrance, let's get a move on!" Helga exclaimed, and the dwarves scurried to go back tovthe secret entrance. They arrived just in time to see Thorin holding up the key. Helga watched as Thorin inserted the key into the keyhole, and then the sound of various locks being unlocked was heard. Suddenly, an outline of a door that was not there appeared, and the door opened to reveal a tunnel. The dwarves looked in awe as their leader stepped over the threshold.

"Erebor," Thorin said, his voice full of emotion. "I know these walls…these walls, this stone. You remember it, Balin. Chambers filled with golden light." He said, looking at Balin as he clasped the older dwarrow's shoulder. Balin just nodded, his eyes getting misty. Helga smiled, happy that they have now found a way back into their home. However, a cold fear gripped her heart the nearer she went to the entrance. She knew that Smaug was probably hundreds of feet below where she was standing, but Helga can feel the strong, rotten presence of this oddity of a dragon. And miles below, deep in his comfortable slumber, he felt a presence that he has not felt in a long time...

A lone dragon rider has come to seek revenge, and Smaug has never felt more alive and disturbed in his life.

* * *

Please leave a review! :)


	26. Chapter 26

**First of all, Happy New Year to all! Finally, that dreadful year is now behind us. I just pray that this year is much more brighter :) Anyways, enjoy this chapter :D Please review and tell me what you think about it.**

 **P.S. For those who followed my other story, All You Never Say, I would just like to say that I deleted it D: I got some negative reviews about it and it was kind of a turn off. The story just wasn't working out anymore. So for those who followed it, I am extremely sorry, but yeah.**

 **~Gabrielle**

* * *

"Dragons have heightened senses," Helga started to explain. "They can smell things from afar -probably already knows that we're here." She said, and the Company gave a shiver.

"Where is a dragon's weakness?" One of them asked, and Helga sighed.

"Usually, the weakest scales are located at the belly," She said, drawing the shape of a dragon on the dirt with a stick. She pointed her stick at the nape of it. "This is the second weakest part of its scales," She said and shrugged. "But if somehow, any of you manage to jump on top of it and gouge its eyes out, I do not see how that would be a problem." She said, and the Company looked at each other with worry. They were not ready for drastic measures such as gouging the eyes of a dragon. Helga noticed that Bilbo seemed distracted, and was gazing into space.

Of course... Who wouldn't be afraid if he was to face a humongous dragon.

"I would not think about it that much," Helga said, going to Bilbo and patting him on the shoulder. "I will go with you." She said, and Bilbo looked at her as if she grew two heads.

"What?! Absolutely not!"

"That wasn't the plan!" Bilbo and Thorin said at the same time. Helga just looked at them and sighed.

"The plan for me was to go to this mountain and end that damned dragon's life, which I should have done a long time ago!" She said, and the Company fell silent. It was only then that they remembered that Helga was not really officially part of the Company. They grew so close that they forgot that she didn't sign any contract, and that the sole reason why she went with them was just for Smaug... Not to win her own place among the halls of Erebor. Helga realized this and looked among the Company.

"I'm sorry... All of you hold a special place in my heart -you really do. But I have not forgotten the main reason why I came here. I have to do this for myself." She said, and some of the Company members looked unconvinced. Helga paused and thought of a way how to make them understand.

"Think of your mothers, your fathers, your siblings, children, wives, distant relations, anyone who you hold dear to you. Then, someone kills all of them and years and years have passed, and the killer is just standing in front of you. Would you not want your own revenge?" She asked. The Company then nodded at her, having their blessing. However, Bilbo and Thorin still seemed uneasy with the idea.

"No. I will not risk it." Thorin said, and Helga raises an eyebrow at him. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. How many times must she say this to him?

"No," She simply said. "I'm going and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She said, and Thorin glared at her.

"What don't you understand, woman?"

"No, what don't you understand, Thorin?" She asked. "I will be of more help to Bilbo than to you as all of you stay here outside. I am a Dragon Rider, do not forget that." She said, her voice leaving no argument.

"I will chain you to the wall if I have to!" Thorin exclaimed, and Helga made a step forward, but the Company held her back.

"Make me," She said defiantly, looking down on Thorin. "It is not for you to decide whether I go or not. I came here for one thing, and one thing only, and that is to see that Smaug draws his last breath. Neither a chain, nor even you, Thorin, can stop me." She said, and stood back, looked at him one last time, before turning to the Hobbit.

"Are you ready, Bilbo?" She asked, and the Hobbit looked torn between the two of them. Bilbo just nodded, standing beside Helga.

"Let me at least escort the two of you." Balin said, going to where Bilbo and Helga stood. Helga just nodded, and looked back at the Company.

"Goodbye for now, my good friends." She told them, meaning each word, before Balin lead her and Bilbo into the tunnel. With one last look, she turned, and did not look back to the sad, blue eyes following her retreating form.

* * *

Once they've reached the end of the tunnel, they stopped. Helga could feel the heat, and the stench of a dragon. But other than that, she can feel it in her heart that Smaug was near. There was a sickness festering in that Dragon's soul, and she felt the same disgust she felt hundreds of years ago.

As Balin and Bilbo talked about the Arkenstone, Helga cautiously walked near the end of the tunnel, and her eyes widened at what she saw. She stood before a sea of gold and jewels, as far as the eye can see. Who on Arda would need this so much gold in their lives? The longer Helga stares at it, the more ill she feels. Just by looking at it, a thin sheet of sweat was starting to form on Helga's forehead, and she felt her throat constrict. Backing away, she turned to see Balin and Bilbo just staring at her.

"Whatever you do, try not to wake up that beast," Balin said, and Helga nodded. He held out his hand, and she shook it, then bringing him close into a hug. Balin was the closest thing she had left when it comes to the memories of her race. When they parted, Balin nodded, wiping a teary eye before leaving. Helga took a deep breath, and looked at Bilbo.

"Ready, Bilbo?" She asked, and Bilbo let out a nervous laugh.

"Is anyone ever?" He asked her in return, and she smiled.

"So here's what we're going to do. You'll search for the Arkenstone, while I keep an eye out for Smaug. Dragons are unfamiliar with your scent because-"

"We're reclusive folk?" He asked, and Helga smirked and shook her head slightly.

"Because dragons never really venture west. Especially this dragon. A gold horde this big, I hardly think that it would even think of going west," She said. "When I tell you to hide, you hide. You're our best chance of finding the Arkenstone."

"And you? Do you think I'm going to let you become dragon bait? What you think I don't see through your plan?" Bilbo asked, crossing his arms.

"What I do or what happens to me does not matter." She said, and Bilbo scoffed.

"Do you think that you're the expendable one in the Company?" Bilbo asked and Helga smiled sadly.

"Bilbo, I was ready to die the moment Smaug killed all of the Dragon Riders. I was ready to die the moment I left my nephews to the elves. I didn't even expect to live this long a life!" She explained, and squatted down to meet Bilbo in the eye. She held his shoulder and smiled at him. "It is not that I think that I am expendable -no one should ever feel expendable. But I am ready to die for a better cause. There is something more at stake here, Bilbo, I can feel it. Something bigger than reclaiming a mountain for a handful of dwarves. I feel that if I do this, I will be saving thousands of lives, and if it does, then one life will be nothing compared to that." She explained. Bilbo looked slightly convinced, and Helga knew that he has nothing more to say.

"Now, shall we go on?" She asked, and Bilbo nodded, before they both set out into the massive treasury of Erebor.

* * *

 _Helga had enough of it._

 _The death, the fire, the burnt corpses -it was enough. As Helga knelt in front of her parents' burnt corpses, she headed back to Bane, her dragon._

 _"Where are you going?" Daario asked, following her._

 _"Where else is there to go? I will kill that scum once and for all." Helga said, tightening the saddle of her dragon. Before she got a chance to mount it, she felt Daario hold her arm._

 _"Helga, stop and think for a moment! You're running off to face Smaug alone without a plan -this is suicide!" He exclaimed._

 _"Daario, you may have been my Legion Commander once, but can you not see that there is no one else to command! The Dragon Riders are gone! There are no Dragon Knights left, except for the two of us! You cannot command me!" Helga spat, tears falling from her eyes as she tightened the buckles of her her weapons on Bane's saddle. Daario held both of her arms and forced her to look into his pleading eyes._

 _"Helga, I am not talking to you as your Legion Commander! I am talking to you as someone who loves you!" He said, shaking her. This seemed to snapped her out of her rage and she fell silent. "We lost everything we have and all that we have left is each other. We cannot throw ourselves away so easily." Daario said, and Helga leaned intoo Daario and burried her face in his leather clad chest. They stood there for a while, forgetting their sorrows, even just for a bit._

 _"I want kill him, Daario. I never wanted anything more in the world." Helga sobbed._

 _"I want him dead, too, Helga. But we cannot do anything without a plan first." He said to Helga's ear. He held her at arm's length, and he saw the hope that was lit in her eyes._

 _Their plan was simple. One of them would distract Smaug while the other will take him from the nape, rip his scales out and kill him. So when they heard Smaug's screech near the forest where the refugees might be, they knew that they had to take action. As Helga was about to mount her dragon, she felt Daario pull her arm once more, and wrapping his arms around her tightly. Helga did the same, holding each other like that for a while._

 _"Take care, mahal." Daario murmured into her hair, and Helga felt a cold grip on her chest. She felt like something will go terribly wrong in their plan._

 _"I think that I'm the one who's supposed to say that to you." She said, pulling back a bit and looking into his brown eyes once more. They both rest their foreheads against each other before Daario leaned in and pressed his lips against Helga's._

 _"When all of this is over, we'll leave this place and marry you as soon as I can." Daario said, and Helga let out a half sob and half laugh, before pressing her lips to him once more._

 _"For luck." Helga said, smiling cheekily before tearing herself away from Daario's arms and mounting her dragon. Once Daario has mounted his own, they both flew off to the direction where Smaug was. Helga, who nodded at Daario, flew further up, covering herself with a thin sheet of clouds, but not too many as to cover her vision. Once she heard the battle between the two dragons, she dived down, Bane's claws ready to rip off any scale from Smaug. Once Bane was able to latch on to Smaug's scales, he pulled with all his might until Smaug screamed as a few of his scales came off. Rage filled Smaug as he chased after the Daario's dragon, and clamped his jaws on its stomach. Smaug's razor sharp teeth managed to cut the straps of Daario's saddles, and Helga didn't waste a second to go after her betrothed._

 _But it was all too late._

 _Bane was a hair's breadth away from catching Daario, but it was too late. Daario hit the ground with the sickening sound of his bones breaking. Helga immediately leapt off her dragon, and cradled Daario in her arms like he used to in their small picnics. She would lie on his lap, and he would lean back against a tree or a boulder and they would both fall asleep in each others' arms._

 _Everything Helga dreamed of having with him disappeared as she looked upon Daario's lifeless eyes. Helga caressed his face, closing his eyes as she did, and Helga felt a sob coming out of her. He looked like he was asleep, like in their picnics, but this time, Helga knew that he will never wake up again. It was Smaug's screech once more that snapped her out if her thoughts. She looked ahead and found herself in front of a forest, and based from Smaug's screech, it was recently set on fire. At the moment, Helga could only think of only two people who may yet be alive. Two people who made her rush into the fire without a second thought._

 _Amren and Alvor._

* * *

It's been what probably felt like a few hours now, and Helga has never felt more nauseous in her life. The sight of gold, it's dull light reflecting on her face -it was too much for her, and she felt a headache starting to form, and bile just resting at the base of her throat. She feels sick, and she can feel the dragon resting somewhere close. She caught up with Bilbo and held his shoulder.

"Bilbo, you need to hide now. I can feel that he is close," Helga said, and Bilbo nodded. Helga pointed to the beams and ledges that looked like bridges from one pillar to another. "You see those beams and ledges up there? I will be right there. Just run as far as you can and keep yourself hidden." Helga said, and Bilbo was about to protest when Helga took off running, climbing a pillar already. Bilbo made sure that she was out of sight before slipping on a certain ring he found in Goblin Town. With this ring, he can stay hidden while searching for the Arkenstone. Killing two birds with one stone, eh? (Or at least, in this case, one ring).

Meanwhile, once Helga reached the top, she took a time to catch her breath before following her senses. As she walked across one pillar to the other, she could feel that she was getting closer to Smaug. That was until, when she stepped on the ledge of the next pillar, she heard thousands of gold coins falling, and when she looked down, there was a golden avalanche that revealed the red, scaly eyelid of an enormous dragon. Helga drew her sword, and scanned for any sign of the hobbit anywhere. She sighed in relief when she saw no sign of the hobbit. But it was short lived once she saw the red, scaly eyelid open to reveal a yellow eye staring into her soul. She would have thought that she was ready to face Smaug, but as she stared into that yellow eye, she could feel her heart jump up to her throat.

The mounds of gold below her started to shake as Smaug stood up. The pieces of gold that lay on top of him for years fell as he stood in front of an old enemy.

"In all my life, I never thought that I will ever see the likes of you again, Dragon Rider." Smaug hissed at the lone dragon rider that was pressed onto a pillar. Despite being at a high place, she still had to look up at Smaug.

"Thought that you can finish us off that easily, snake?" She asked, hiding her nervousness behind her smirk.

"You know, for someone who ought to care for dragons, you say such hurtful words to one." Smaug said, and Helga huffed.

"You? A dragon? Ha! You are an abomination -corrupted by greed and by Morgoth himself! You are this close to becoming those slaves the Nazguls used to use!" She spat at him, and Smaug just let out a bitter laugh that shook the whole mountain.

"Oh, dear, dear, lonely Dragon Rider. You must mistake a regular dragon to those pets that you used to own. It is not I who is the corrupted one! It is you who corrupted my brothers and sisters," Smaug hissed, and Helga thought that the only thing missing is for him to spit venom through his hiss. "Dragons used to reign over Arda, and when your kind came, you tied them down, tamed them into creatures they are not meant to be! It's like telling a snake that it's a worm! So much potential, but because of the likes of you, they do not see it!"

"Potential for what? To rule the whole of Middle Earth? The whole of Arda?" Helga asked, and Smaug had a vicious gleam in his eyes.

"The reign of Dragons, and all it took were a handful of men to stop it," He said, Helga could see the dangerous glow in Smaug's belly. "Tell me, Dragon Rider, how did you survive? I was sure that I burnt down every last one of them." Smaug said, and Helga huffed.

"You do not remember me, do you?" Helga asked.

"I have seen too many faces in my lifetime to remember. Remind me again which one I forgot to burn alive." Smaug said nonchalantly, as if he simply forgot an acquaintance.

"You who burned down my family's house in the outskirts of the tribe. You who bit my betrothed's dragon midair and watch him fall to his death. You who burned down a whole village that lead to my cousins' deaths! That almost killed my nephews!" Helga exclaimed, pointing her sword at Smaug. Compared to him, Blackfyre was just a needle, but it's design, he remembered. Her betrothed, he too, remembered.

"The red dragon I took down. The last one to take a stand against me. And that sword, I remembered. That sword nearly took my eye out!" He said, laughing, as if it were some kind of joke. "So you were the other dragon rider. The one who mounted that black dragon and took a few of my scales out." He mused, and Helga gripped Blackfyre's handle.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance." Helga said, and Smaug shook his head.

"And here you are, begging to die. Has the few hundred years been a torture for you, Dragon Rider?" Smaug asked, and in the distance, Helga saw Bilbo appear out of thin air. Helga was startled, but it was gone when he held up a glowing stone, which she assumed is the Arkenstone. "Were all these years of brooding and thinking up of ways to kill me were slowly eating you up on the inside?" He asked, and Helga knew what was about to happen. Smaug's belly was lit, meaning that he was about to breathe out fire. "Surely, you could not have come here for revenge without help. And who else than the dwarves who once owned this mountain?" Helga felt her heart clench at that. He wasn't supposed to find out about that, but I guess that it was always inevitable. Smaug saw the turmoil in her eyes, and Helga felt fear at the pit of her stomach.

"I could smell him all over you, Dragon Rider. Thorin Oakenshield has claimed you himself -just recently. And I am assuming that while you are here, distracting me, something or someone else is looking for the Arkenstone." Helga felt her heart beating faster. She needs to signal Bilbo to get out of here. But how can she without blowing the hobbit's position? "I do not care if he has the Arkenstone. I give it to him freely, if only to see him go mad like his grandfather." Smaug hissed. Then, Helga had a plan. It was not a good plan, but it was a plan, nonetheless.

"You want to know the truth? It was a torture, yes. But to stand in front of you, sword in hand, I know that I will kill you today, and the hundred years of torture will be worth it," Helga said, and watched as Smaug's eyes gleamed with annoyance and anger. "I did not come here for Thorin Oakenshield only, but I came here for the hundreds of Dragon Riders you slew that day, and I do not care if I die -just as long as you die with me!" She exclaimed, and Helga knew that her plan was working as she saw Smaug's belly glow brighter.

"If death is what you wish for, Dragon Rider, then death is what you will get!" Smaug exclaimed. At that moment, everything happened so fast. As Bilbo heard Helga's shout to run, the last thing he saw was Helga falling off the pillar before the flames of Smaug engulfed her.


	27. Chapter 27

Bilbo ran off, trying to fight off the tears that tried to make it's way through his eyes. He ran as fast as he can back to the entrance of the treasurey. He couldn't shake off the memory of his friend disappearing behind a wall of flame as she fell down. There was no way in Arda she would have survived the fall, no less the flame that engulfed her. As he was about to turn to the entrance, he stopped dead in his tracks when a blade was pressed to his neck. Bilbo's breath got stuck in his throat when he saw that it was Thorin holding the blade.

"Did you find the Arkenstone?" He asked, and Bilbo gulped, a tear falling down his cheek.

"Thorin-"

"Did you find it?" Thorin insisted, now pointing the tip of his sword to Bilbo's chest.

"Thorin, we have to go!" Bilbo insisted, but Thorin did not relent.

"Did you find it?!" He asked, but Bilbo couldn't take it anymore.

"She's dead, Thorin! Helga's dead!" Bilbo shouted, and Thorin found himself lowering his sword, dumbfounded.

"What?" He asked, backing up, and Bilbo took this as an opportunity to grab Thorin by the collar and drag him away from the treasurey. "What are you doing?! We have to go back for her!" Thorin exclaimed, and pulled away from Bilbo's grip.

"Thorin, I know she means a lot to you, but we have to go now! If we go back there, we will die, and Helga's death will be in vain!" Bilbo scolded Thorin, who looked torn. That was when the Company caught up to them, and all of them noticed that there was one woman missing. All of them fell silent, and Balin could only shut his eyes and let tears fall.

* * *

When she was 5, Helga's parents decided that their child was old enough to finally come close to a dragon. So they took her to the dragon farm that a family friend owned. Helga was so excited to finally touch, and hopefully ride her first dragon. The first dragon she got to touch was a small red scaled dragon, nearly the same size as her. The dragon was calmed first, and let her get used to being around the pen for a while before letting her touch it. Helga was so excited, that she nearly annoyed her parents to death by asking over and over again if she can already touch it. When the time came, they opened the pen and slowly let her in.

It was as if all of Helga's excitement left her and a strange calmness overcame her.

She slowly walked to the dragon, afraid that if she makes a wrong move, the dragon will spew out flame. As she placed her open palm in front of the dragon's snout, the dragon tilted it's head and was about to let her touch it's snout, when the barn door the held the baby dragons slammed open, and in came the owner's child, Daario, a screaming and crying mess.

"Why are you letting her touch my dragon! She's mine! Why are you letting touch her?!"

Everything happened so fast. The owner shushed his child and lead him out of the barn, and Helga's parents tried to pull their child out of the pen. But the baby dragon felt it's rider's distress and started to thrash around, breathing out fire. Helga almost made it out unscathed, but the dragon's fire managed to lick at her palm.

It hurted so much, and to think that was just a baby dragon.

So when Helga jumped off from the beam in Erebor's treasurey, once again almost made it out unscathed, if not for Smaug's flames licking at her left arm, and her face.

A broken leg (maybe a dislocated knee), and a red mark on her face and her arm was the state she found herself in when she woke up. Helga sighed and tried to stand up, limping in the empty treasurey, when realization hit her.

If Smaug was not here, he must be after the Company.

Running as fast as she can, she went back to the direction of the secret entrance, but as she entered the tunnel, it was pitch black. But that was until a glowing figure at the end of it. The figure was floating, as if it was underwater, and as Helga limped closer to the figure, she gasped.

"Bathala," She uttered, before running after the white dragon. But as she grew closer, the dragon turned left and went at full speed. "Wait!" Helga exclaimed as she followed it. By the end of their chase, she saw the white dragon go through the solid wall. She stopped, her eyes seeing nothing else except the darkness. Fear clutched her heart as she took small steps forward, her hands in front of her. She hoped and prayed that she'd touch a wall, and not something else she didn't want to imagine. She jumped as she touched something jagged, and let out a small sigh when she realized that it was just a wall. Her hand moved to the sides of the wall, and she felt something round protruding from the wall.

It was a doorknob.

Turning the doorknob, she pushed it open and shivered at the freezing breeze that blew in. She winced at the moonlight that hit her eyes as she stepped out of the accursed tunnel. She looked around and realized that this was a different door from the one they used to enter the mountain. The position of this door is much more higher than the one they entered. From this view, Laketown and the vast forest of Mirkwood could be seen and in the distance, the misty mountains.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Helga turned to see a man in white robes standing beside her, his glowing presence emitting calmness around her. Suddenly, it was as if they were encased in their own bubble, forgetting the reality for a while. Helga knelt on one knee and bowed. "I remember the time when I created my children in this world. They were the most beatiful thing I've ever created, and it pained me so to see them in my halls so soon."

"I have failed you, Bathala. Forgive me." Helga said, looking up at her god, and her heart broke to see him smile at her.

"All is not lost, young Skyrunner. There is still hope for you. I know of your fate, and you will soon find your destiny in this world. Your days of wandering in the dark and living without a purpose are over. You have a bigger role to play in this world, young rider." Bathala said, lifting her chin up.

"What do you mean?"

"You were lost the moment you lost everything. But when you joined Thorin Oakenshield's quest, you started to find your way to your destined path, and the leader of this quest is the bridge to it." Bathala said, and Helga felt impatience flare.

"So you're saying that all those years that I spent alone -everything I suffered was for something that I am supposed to do, yet have no say in it? My people wiped out just so I could live my destiny?! It would have been better if I have not lived at all, if that is the case!" Helga exclaimed, but Bathala just kept a calm and collected face.

"All your troubles will pay off, young Skyrunner. If answers is what you need, then you must walk down the path that will lead to, not only your peace, but for your family." Bathala said, and he touched her forehead.

In that brief second of contact, everything flooded into Helga. Visions of the far future -days of peace, love, and prosperity. She never thought that it was possible, but coming from Bathala himself, Helga knew that what he said was right. She was nearing the path that she needed to walk, and her duty to this world was bigger than being just a petty leigon commander. She had a bigger part to play in the peace of Arda, and in that brief contact of skin, Bathala showed her everything that she had to do. She could not help but cry at what she saw -they were tears of happiness, anger, and sorrow, for Helga couldn't bear the future troubles she has to face.

"Do you see now, young Dragon Rider, who you are meant to be?" Bathala asked, and Helga nodded, tears streaming down her eyes.

"I do not know how I can do those things. How can you place such a heavy burden on me?" She asked, kneeling and crying, when Bathala knelt down and wrapped his arms around the lone Dragon Rider.

"The strength and resilience you have shown over the years, young Skyrunner, is what made me choose you for this burden of a task. You are the last hope for them, young Skyrunner. You are the only hope I have left." He said, and Helga huffed out her last tears and shut her eyes. Now wasn't the time to cry on the shoulder of the dragon god. She had a new purpose -a duty to fulfill, and she cannot waste any more time.

"How do I start?" Helga asked him, and Bathala helped her up, and held her by the shoulders.

"We fall." He said, and he tilted over the edge until both of them were falling. Helga gasped from surprise, but she trusted in her god. The old, white-clad man disappeared and turned into a glowing white dragon, that dove underneath her until he catched her. She sat on the white dragon before they soared off into a glowing light in the distance.

"Lake-town." Helga said, her heart dropping to her stomach at the thought of her nephews. Bathala glided near a bell tower, and let her get off his back. Helga stood at the top of the bell tower, and she looked at Bathala one last time before the white dragon nodded at her and vanished. Then, she heard the rumble of the dragon from the mountain, and knew that she has to get everyone to safety first. She started ringing the bell, and everyone started to move, either back to their houses or to the nearest boat thwy can find. Helga went down the bell tower, looking for the armory to grab a new set of bow and arrows. Clothing herself with proper armor, she set out to the town, where she saw Smaug starting to soar around the forsaken town. Running back to the bell tower, shs shouted with all of her might.

"SMAUG! COME AND FACE ME!"

A few seconds later, a loud thud behind her was felt. She turned to see Smaug a few miles away from her, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

"You again?" He asked, and Helga huffed out.

"It would take more than you to get rid of me." Helga said, whipping out an arrow from her bow.

"Your arrows cannot pierce me, mortal! You of all people should know that!" He seethed. Helga smirked and aimed at the chink his armor of scales. As he charged towards her, she shot arrow after arrow on that same spot, and with each shot, Smaug writhed and let out a howl of pain.

"Your petty arrows do not affect me, dragon rider! Now, it is time for you to die!" He said, letting out a blood curling roar. Helga knew that this was the end. As Smaug prepared to charge, she heard someone call her name.

"Helga!" She heard a voice, and she looked down to see the Bard climbing up the ladder, handing a strange, and longer arrow to her.

"What ate you still doing here?!"

"May this arrow give you more luck than it did to my ancestors." He said as she took the arrow Helga looked at it and recognized the shape of the arrow. Giving the grim man a thankful look, she stood up.

"Go! Run as far as you can!" She shouted, and turned to face the dragon. As Smaug charged for her it seemed as if time itself slowed down. As she nocked her arrow, a million thoughts ran through her head.

 _I only have one_ shot _._

 _I can't do anything wrong._

 _Are Amren and Alvor dead?_

 _Did Fili and Kil_ _i escape with my nephews?_

 _Shoot the arrow right at the part with the missing scale._

 _The Company is safe in the mountain. They have their home back._

 _They are safe._

 _This is the end._

 _I never got to say goodbye._

 _I'm sorry, Thorin._

 _He will have more, and he will eventually forget about me._

 _I will soon be with my family._

 _Aim at his heart._

 _I love you, Thorin._

 _Let go of the arrow._

 _I will be with my dragon._

 _We will be no more._

 _Goodbye._

* * *

 _ **Don't worry, this is not goodbye, yet :) There is more to come for Helga, however, I am too intent on writing the sequel that I really want to rush this story, so sorry :( And I haven't been feeling much love for this story.**_

 _ **Another thing is that I am super busy at school at the moment. I am nearing my final exams, looking for new schools amd taking the entrance tests, and there's a major SC project that I am managing, and I barely have time left to write anymore :( As in my tablet used to be filled with stories, and now, it's been invaded by letters, proposals, and charts :(**_

 _ **Bear with me, dear readers (if there are still any).**_

 _ **~Gabrielle**_


	28. Chapter 28

Dear beloved readers,

The previous chapter is the last chapter for Heart of Gold because I am starting the sequel! :D

I would just like to thank Zipporah (Jessica) for her review! :) Zipporah (Jessica), if you're reading this, I want you to know that I mean it when I say thank you so much for your review. It has inspired me to continue writing Helga's timeline. I didn't know that there were still people who read and love this story the way that you do :)

So to my darling readers, look for the story The Hardest of Hearts to know what happened 5 years after the Battle of the Five Armies! :D That's a pretty huge time gap, but every question that you have at the moment will be answered in the sequel. (Probably if Helga survived or not, but obviously, since there's a sequel, she does ;) )

So to those who followed, read, and reviewed this story, I thank you all so much, and I hope that you're willing to read the sequel, too :)

See you in the sequel!

Sincerely,

Gabrielle 3


	29. Chapter 29

**This is a preview to it's sequel, The Hardest of Hearts. It takes place 5 years after the battle, and the story has 8 chapters now, if you want to catch up :)**

* * *

It was a regular day, of you were to ask any other dwarf, man, or elf in Dale. The streets were busy and bustled with the market life, and life, as some may say, was swell.

It has been 5 years since the Battle of the Five Armies, and the singed land cultivated fields and crops once more. Dwarves soon returned to Erebor, and as a new decree of prosperity and harmony, men and elves were now allowed to reside inside the mountain. No one, even the Company, knew why their king declared such an act. Some say that it was to give way to his nephews' choice of a mate, a readheaded elf from Mirkwood for the youngest prince and a fair-haired girl from the Men of Laketown.

Some say that it was a form of gratitude to a human member of the Company who once lost a home, and was promised one in Erebor.

But those were just the rumors that spread around the eastern part of Middle Earth, and the King Under the Mountain brushes rumors off like a lint on his doublet. And speaking of the king...

"How are things faring in Dale, Bard?" Thorin asked, as he went around the streets of Dale with it's own king beside him.

"All is well at the moment. We have lived through five years of hard won and undisturbed peace, Thorin. I can forsee that we will have much more simillar years to come," The usually grim man spoke. "Especially now that we rare soon to be kin." He said with a smirk.

"Only by marriage," Thorin grumbled, as he looked around the stalls. "And it's not me who you'd want to be related to. My sister has always been the most likeable one between us siblings. And how I wish that she was here. All this preparations for the wedding has never been my area of expertise."

"Why not let your queen do it?" Bard asked. "Your wedding was her doing and it was simple yet elegant." Bard commented, looking around the flower shop that they had stopped by. He noticed that Thorin had a sudden look of regret wash over his face and he gave a sad smile.

"Trust me, if I had the chance to change it I would." He said grimly, and he continued walking. Bard shook his head and clapped the dwarf king's back.

"Do not be grim, your majesty. The weather is good, we are alive, and there are more grim days in the far future. Dwell on the present, master dwarf!" But Thorin could not find himself to agree with his friend, for he desired to be anywhere but the present.

* * *

Once the king arrived, he went on to tend to his usual duties -he did his rounds in the mines, walked around the houses in Erebor, listened to those who wants an audience with him, and made a very quick check in the treasury. Once he was done, he went to his study where he locked himself away along with a bottle of aged Gondorian Brandy and his thousands and thousands of paper work. Somewhere during the night -he wasn't sure how long he stayed in there, a knock fell upon the wooden door of his study.

"Enter." Thorin said. He looked up and saw his eldest nephew standing there, holding him a tray of dinner.

"You missed dinner again." Fili said, setting the tray of food on whatever space was left on Thorin's desk.

"Did I?" His uncle asked, eyes never leaving the letter that he was writing.

"We need to talk, uncle." Fili said, sitting down on the chair in front of Thorin's desk.

"If you are thinking about cancelling your wedding with Princess Sigrid, then we really do need to talk. I have spent weeks trying to get your wedding together, and Princess Sigrid is more than compatible for-"

"What?! No! I love Sigrid! This is not about me, uncle -this is about you," Fili exclaimed, and Thorin stopped writing. He looked up at Fili and gave him a look that urged him to go on. "Uncle, you can't keep missing dinner, you can't keep avoiding auntie, and soon enough, you would have to produce an heir to your throne!" Fili explained.

"Fili, I do not miss out our dinners on purpose -I am not a child. And why would I need another heir? I have you to take over the throne." Thorin argued, and Fili looked at him, as if disappointed.

"I know that the anniversary for the Battle of the Five Armies is nearing, uncle, but you have to stop blaming yourself and let auntie in. As your wife, she has the right to know."

"She does not have to know, Fili. It's in the past." Thorin said, and he continued to write his letters. Fili sighed and stood up. It was pointless to argue with Thorin in such a state. As Fili left, another knock came. He looked up and saw Balin standing there, a determined loom on his eyes. Thorin couldn't resist the rolling of his eyes.

"What? Come to give me a lecture about my marriage, too?" Thorin asked, and Balin stopped in his tracks.

"Actually, I came here to tell you about the council meeting that you missed awhile ago... But now that you mentioned it-" Balin was cut off when Thorin slammed his palm on his desk, the inkpot nearly spilling.

"My marriage is my own business, and whatever is wrong between my wife and I will be solved by my wife and I." Thorin growled. However, Balin was used to Thorin's temper, and he brushed it off.

"It's been five years, Thorin. It's time to stop blaming yourself for what happened." Balin said.

"You know nothing of what I feel, Balin. No one understands how I feel." Thorin said, raising his voice, but Balin did not waver.

"Tell those who have lost something or someone from the Battle, Thorin. Tell that to the widows, the orphans, and the childless, and ask yourself again if no ome can understand your pain." Balin said. Silence fell upon them and Balin nodded, bowed, and left.

* * *

The king crept into his bedroom in the middle of the night, after he could drink and write mo more. He washed his face first in the basin on the vanity before he removed his crown, rings, and ear cuffs. He then proceeded to strip into his tunic and breeches before turning to face his bed. It was occupied by a breathing form, and as he stepped closer, he could see the golden hair of his wife. Climbing on his bed, he gently laid on his side, facing his wife's back. Tentatively, he wrapped his am around his wife's waist and pressed his lips on his wife's bare shoulders. He closed his eyes, tears falling from remembering a night in Laketown -a night where he felt young and alive with a golden-haired woman. For a moment, it was like they were back in that bed many years ago. They were in similar position as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear. He felt the body stir under his arms and turn to face him. He smiled softly as he saw Helga's face...

For a while...

The king blinked once more and instead of the face of the beautiful dragon rider, it was the face of his dwarven wife, Tamara. Instead of those warm, brown eyes looking up at him, icy blue orbs stared back at him.

"What is it, my king?" Tamara asked, placing a hand on his cheek. Overwhelmed with emotions, he just pulled his wife closer, feeling her heartbeat and letting his unshed tears fall.

How can he dwell in the present, when the past keeps haunting him every single night?


End file.
